#so…. MORE FAMILY DRAMA!!

[honeysucklethornsandalligtrhorns]

vent in tags😋

[nocofamilyau]

always a big deal when Don's around

(always a big deal if Don's in town)

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

OP: Check out. The fully-sexual charged cinematic movement design.

Cnetizens: How did the director come up with the idea to have him kneel on a playing card, adding so much aesthetic energy, is that some kind of genius?

[silverraes]

I am so entirely serious, I'm gonna need future BL to take SO many notes about the relationships in this show

the way this one simple line tells us so much about how much Fang loves his brother while also acknowledging that sometimes we need someone outside of our family to turn to. the way this moment also tells us how much he cares about Tan even if he might not always be the best at showing it. the way they're all just there for each other.

this show genuinely fills my heart with so much joy it's insane.

[kaeyachi]

There's something alarming about the continuing trope of an Alberich father putting their hopes and dreams on their sons, but their sons are dreaming of something else like, oh, I don't know, living a normal life? Not finding the world unfair? Have no burden concerning their lineage?

[youngpettyqueen]

I know the decision to have Julian's parents have him augmented was made on the fly but imo its pretty obvious from early on that Julian has Family Issues because he avoids talking about his family like the plague and I think they should've incorporated this into the Julian and Sisko dynamic right from early on because I think it would've made for some really compelling stories and moments and could've set up a REALLY interesting Julian and Jake dynamic which they kinda started to do but never fully went for

[vaguely-concerned]

lucanis truly has a near terminal case of burned out golden child syndrome. caterina fucked both of these kids over so incredibly bad with the dynamic she enforced there, with illario being labled the perpetual fuckup kid where lucanis 'could do no (would never be allowed to do) wrong'. the way he admits in the first coffee date scene that the only thing that happened when he showed he could carry the weight of expectation was that more weight was added makes me so sad. you can hear it in caterina's voice in his intro mission that she's incredibly proud of him, but this is clearly a leandra and hawke situation where that pride never translates into relief or resolution or unconditional warmth or understanding or anything that really helps.

[hyakunana]

"Anyone can find happiness. That's the world we're striving for!"

[luckyricochet]

"Do you know le Dr. Franklin?" "Sorry?" "Si j'avais sa bénédiction..." "Tu rêves, Gilbert. Nos familles n'y consentiront jamais." "La gloire met fin aux disputes."

THÉODORE PELLERIN as GILBERT DU MOTIER, THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE

EVERY LAFAYETTE SCENE, 8/? ✧ 1x02, FRANKLIN (2024)

[svtskneecaps]

see everyone worried and fretted and panicked and yet quesadilla island looked at pepito and went

[nocofamilyau]

I sure hope Hijotee is doing well wherever they may be... (21/24)

[vegaseatsass]

You know, these past two episodes I was thinking to myself, Su Yin is almost perfect in every way, simply the ideal devoted, protective, loyal, dedicated sworn brother, call him Da-ge indeed!!!, but my one piece of constructive criticism is that he needs to learn how to give real hugs - he does a lot of manful shoulder clasping, but Xiaobao is a shivering chihuahua desperately in need of cuddles and body heat, you gotta HUG THAT BOY - but now I see that Su Yin's hugs are simply reserved for his horrible little gremlin of an imperial cousinwife.

[destinywillowleaf]

one of a kind living in a world gone plastic

baby you're so classic

@most-tragic-character-tournament

(all my thoughts in the tags)

[fennekinmon]

I was going to draw what i think dev's mom looks at least my interpetation of her and i was speaking out loud and i accidentally said dale' mom instead of dev's mom.

And it struck me with wait we don't know shit about dale's mom too like, where the fuck was she in like dale's life like, your child was missing for seven years and like he returned. And the fact dale only wanted to see doug when he got out of lemon dungeon and he didn't say "i wish i could to see my parents",he said "i wish i could see my dad" so, like was she even there at all for dale at all in his little years of dale's remaining childhood. Like my brain now that thinking about her is only bring up more questions about dale and doug and how it effects dev. Like all the dimmadomes are in some way still in a we don't know fully about them even though we do have some information about them enough we can make guesses about them.

Like seriously, i realized where in the absolute fuck where and who is dale's mom since like she has to exist, and like did dale ever to try to find his mom after he got of the lemon dungeon, like, who and where is she?? Like she has to exist somewhere like dev's mom. We just don't know about the dimmadome ladies in the family.

[teecupangel]

Inspired by the Patron Desmond sends his ancestors to earlier points in time and fucks over half a dozen timelines: Desmond wishes all his ancestors had someone to support them through their worst suffering without - you know, getting betrayed by them or watching them die.

So Bayek wakes up in the prime of his life in Altair's time and adopts this child who just watched his father die. When Altair dies, he and Bayek suddenly appear, both in the primes of their lives, in time to see the Auditore get arrested. Bayek, Altair, and Ezio are there when Edward's protecting the Assassins of Tulum and take the piss out of him. The crew plus Edward are there when Ratonhnhake:ton's village burns. They all sail to France on a whim and end up recruiting Arno. All of them appear in London to help out the Frye twins. And when Desmond gets kidnapped... the Assassins have an entire historical legion show up out of nowhere to help bust him out of Abstergo's clutches.

Kassandra keeps showing up, nobody's certain if she's with them all or not, but just... all of the main ancestors glomming together as one hugely dysfunctional murder family forged across time and space who all have the biggest soft spot for Desmond.

Desmond as their Patron has no power over this. This is happening solely based on his wish and he has no control who gets transported and gifted with immortality so even he does not know if Kassandra is also part of his immortality gang.

It’s Bayek who believes Desmond is a god and their patron, giving them this power to protect the world. Of course, there are times when he misses Aya and he wonders if this immortality is a curse. But then he hears the laughter of Darim and Sef before they run after him, grabbing his robes and asking him to tell them another story, grandfather tells the best stories! And Bayek’s lips curved into a smile. Perhaps the immortality is a curse but seeing the people he cares for and loves grow up and take the future for themselves will always be a joy that makes this curse worth it.

Altaïr would be the one to try and understand this immortality that they had. Would be the one to realize that they do die after their life runs its course but they will always be awaken in the same place together, back in their prime, with the memories up to their death. His first business would be to find his Apple and, after the long road he had to take to find the seals to open his library, he decided to set it up so that the next time he needed to find his Apple, it would be in the most convoluted way possible that only he would understand. It’s because of the Apple that they got to Firenze just as the Auditores were being arrested (they saved the day but it was a close call). Then Ezio’s Apple was placed on the vault and Altaïr felt a bit annoyed of how easy his Apple was secured so… he just plopped the Apple there as well.

It is Ezio who first thought of naming the glowing god that appears before them before they are resurrected once more Desmond. There’s something about the god with no discernible features other that his entire body glowing that made Ezio think of Desmond for some reason. Altaïr is the one who tries to search for this Desmond using both his and Ezio’s Apples.

Edward was the one man out. He wasn’t an Assassin yet but he had the makings of one. So they trained him. Bayek had done this three times already, he knows Edward Kenway is the key. Perhaps the next brother that will be given the curse of immortality. They stayed with him until he started to settle down in London, focusing on his family. They visited from time to time but they were not there to save Edward.

When they are resurrected once more, decades have passed and they could only try and save as many people as they could as the fires had already started. Including the mother of a young child by the name of Ratonhnhaké:ton. They stayed in the village for a few days, with the boy’s mother talking to Edward Kenway for a long time, ending with Edward learning of his son’s fate. So they leave the village to find him, to confront him. When Ratonhnhaké:ton was 13, he followed his mother out of the village and they meet once more. Haytham remains elusive and they suggested that they stay with the mother and son for a bit to ‘relax’, only for this to end with them teaching Ratonhnhaké:ton (and sometimes even giving tips to Kaniehtí:io.

And after everything was done, they sailed to France to support Ratonhnhaké:ton who received a letter requesting for aid from Lafayette. There, they met Arno Dorian and took him under their wings, helping him with his missions but only three of them at a time, for they have their own agenda for going to France. (And if this ends with Altaïr taking a Sword of Eden, well… that’s not really surprising).

Helping out the Frye twins had been second nature. Arno and Jacob met by accident when Arno had been buying one of the pubs in London (a financial focused habit he and Ezio had developed through the years) and Bayek thought they needed support (and guidance, so much guidance). By the end of it, they were sure that the twins would become like them as well. (And if this ends with Altaïr taking the Shroud of Eden… at this point, everyone already expects him to take custody over POEs)

It all ends with them moving into the modern day where they used their knowledge and experience to have a partnership with a group called Erudito. From there, it became easier to find the Assassins but their focus shifted when they heard of Desmond Miles.

And Ezio just knows… that this was the Desmond they were all searching for.

[murdockhawkeye]

this is *maybe* a bit of a stretch but i still find interesting to think about? don't know if i have everything right

but

i feel like with the elemental opposite duos - emma & rikki, cleo & bella - you could reasonably say their arcs'd mirror each other in a way

like

emma and rikki have issues with responsibility/expectations but on opposite ends of the spectrum

emma was a gifted child, everyone had high expectations for her and she tried to meet those expectations the best she could. she’s responsible emma, who makes sure everyone is looked after, and everyone “knew” was going to become a top athlete, because look at all those trophies on her shelf

and then rikki on the other hand, was alone for “her own good.” she admitted to elliot that no one really liked her growing up, so when somebody did, it made her feel weird and she pushed them away. she stayed away from other people, made sure they never had any expectations of her

they both avoided disappointing others, by going to opposite extreme lengths

and then they overcame these issues, with emma facing a sudden change in her life (becoming a mermaid) that meant she had to give up her swimming dreams and disappoint the people in her life (that had to suck for her, honestly.) she had to come to terms with that - but then, she also found a whole new world that she’d never have been a part of, if things had gone the way she planned

and as for rikki - her biggest change wasn't the tail, but becoming friends with emma and rikki. had she'd her way and zane’d never gotten cleo stuck on that boat, she’d never become friends with them. rikki had to learn the hurdles of friendship and of keeping them, like when she mistook the different kinds of fish, when cleo and emma didn't support her relationship with zane, etc. they had their issues - but in the end, they were there for rikki, and rikki was there for them back. she'd have never gotten that kind of solidarity, had things gone the way she thought it would

and then there’s cleo and bella

bella - unfortunately, didn’t have much in terms of development, since the writers prioritized will’s relationship with her over expanding her character background+ for some reason ??

so i'm just mostly going to talk about cleo here first - but i'll get to bella in a second

cleo by s3 is a very confident and self-assured person; but she didn't start out that way. she was insecure, somewhat naive. she grew up overshadowed by her two best friends, the both of them being gifted in their own rights - emma, the young up and rising athlete, and lewis the science genius, they were sure to go places. cleo, on the other hand, was overlooked. she didn't have much going for her - except for adequate grades and a love of the marine life that was hindered by her fear of water

and then cleo became a *literal* mermaid. either she was going to avoid it or overcome it. in the end, she didn't just overcome her fear of water, but she also took a risk by taking that job at the marine park, where she'd be working right by the marine animals. she let her fear control her before, and she wasn't going to let it stop her from wanting to pursue things anymore

(funny, she started out with a fear of water, then became a mermaid. she struggled with her grades, then became a science genius)

bella, much like cleo - had her own issues when it came to the kind of attention she got, but the other way around. her first appearance, she was being catcalled. same ep, nate is drooling over her. they've made her beauty a point throughout s3. even cleo and rikki's brought it up. it. could not have been easy for her to deal with that, especially with her secret in mind

seeing that, even with the different issues when it came to attention, i think they'd still have had the same feelings about it. a younger bella, probably would've been similarly insecure/anxious as cleo had been - until she learned to be more sure about herself and grew into the bella we know and love today

(we should've gotten way more lore and background about bella, agh)

tldr; emma and rikki have same feelings but opposite reactions (people pleasing and people avoiding.) cleo and bella opposite situations but same feelings (overshadowed and center of attention)

yk, rikki was right in a way i think about the "universal law," but like, more about keeping in balance and not about trios. emma and rikki balance each other out, cleo and bella were *meant* to balance each other out. but in s2, bella wasn't there - charlotte was

do i blame the antagonizing of charlotte and cleo's out of characterness on the writers, or do i blame it on some magical semi-canon mermaid universal law about balance

blaming it on a mermaid universal law sounds more fun, and could have interesting implications. (though the writing grates me, still)