#thanks for attending my ted talk

[prncssguya]

on hwang in-ho/front man, seong gi-hun and their dynamic.

first, idk why people are getting so upset at other people calling gi-hun dumb, we were told that in the first season. lol being bright is not his strongest trait but he has a good heart and we love that about him. however, he is still an idealistic gullible idiot with a gambling problem. except this time his gambling addiction is backed by a sense of justice and righteousness and he no longer gambles with money, he’s gambling with people’s lives. front man asked a good question at the end of the season, “did you have fun playing the hero?” can we even call gi-hun the hero of the story anymore? he gambled with people’s lives and front man showed him the consequences of his moral heroics.

front man only agreed to help gi-hun with his revolution when he mentioned about "small sacrifices for the greater good". i think he reveled in the fact that the “good guy” was willing to allow a few innocent people to die for the greater good to stop the games, which is exactly what the entire VIP theory is to rid the world of 'trash' to improve the world. notice how gi-hun's moral code and belief also changed, from being "nobody should die" into "yeah small sacrifice is okay as long it's for the greater good" at this point, he just proved that front man's belief is actually valid. AND he gets more of his own people killed in the pointless battle with the soldiers that they had no chance of winning. now he gets to feel responsible for all those deaths and the death of his friend and for whatever additional torture they cook up in the next games (as punishment for the escape attempt).

now on hwang in-ho, i believe he was once a good man and the story he told gi-hun was the truth. but in the end he lost a kidney, lost a wife, a baby, lost his money, got fucked over by the wrong people and got into serious debt and had to play this game to help his wife and probably it was too late to save her. he might have played the games like gi-hun but saw how ruthless and greedy people are and resolved that they don't deserve help

i don’t think in-ho wants/will kill gi-hun, but he wants him to understand things from his perspective and show him that his compassion for the people in the games is foolish. you can tell the frontmen (the old man and in-ho) are extremely fond of gi hun. not only did he protect their original front man when nobody else did, he then won the games and thus their respect as he is now as rich as them. he's no longer "trash", he’s an elite like them. i think they both actually kept tabs on him after he won (i wonder if they do that for all winners? inserting them with gps chips?) because they knew he had not used his reward money and in-ho wanted gi-hun to get on the plane and be happy with his daughter

there’s one interesting aspect of the games that makes front man such a complex character. the fact that they’re operating a organ transplant trafficking network. in a way, he’s creating some good to come from a really fucked up situation. but is it really for the good of others who desperately need it, people like his wife, like his brother? or is it just a money making scheme?

either way, i don’t think there is going to be a redemption arc for in-ho, he’s too far gone. we may get to see more of his human side if he manages to see jun-ho again. the only time we’ve seen genuine emotions from him was when he shot his brother like he seemed distraught

the real cliffhanger for me, is will gi-hun stay true to his belief that people can be good, or will he be forever changed into a villain and become the next front man…? after the events of this season i don’t see how his will doesn’t shatter. he’s witnessed how humanity consistently chose money over survival, he’s lost two close friends, his mother, abandoned his daughter. he has gained nothing from wanting to stop the games and this clearly feels like an origin story for the next front man. it’s clear the front man has won this round and i think squid game will either die with 001 or continue with gi-hun as game master

another thing i find funny that i don’t see many mention is how gi-hun is like the luckiest guy in the fucking world. but i don’t think him being alive this long is plot armor, it makes sense. the games exist for the entertainment of rich sadists who have so much money they don't know what to do with it (remember what old 001 said in s1 about life being no fun for both people with no money and people with too much money). and i’d imagine killing hundreds of poor debt-ridden fools year after year gets boring. especially when said fools are desperate enough to gamble with their lives because they think they can beat the system by playing better than everyone else and surviving and getting the money.

gihun is different because he got the money, got out, and still came back. not because he's unfeeling or because he wants more money, but because he's still convinced he can beat the system.

if you're a rich bored gazillionaire, would you rather watch some randos die or would you rather watch this exceptional idiot fail again and again until he learns that his ideals are meaningless and people are inherently greedy and equality is a myth and people at the bottom of the barrel don't get to question the system?

if you're an asshole gazillionaire, you don't want someone to challenge you and just get away with it. you want to hand them 45.6 billion won and make them go away quietly, traumatized, after breaking them psychologically by making them do horrible things until they understand they're just powerless "horses". if they insist on challenging you and your system and your beliefs (money = boundless power), you teach them a lesson and show them their place in the most manipulative and cruel way possible. if gihun dies right away, that's boring. so he can't die, he needs to suffer. he needs to concede defeat.

also, i find it funny how people are comparing hwang inho and gihun dynamic to hannibal and will graham. makes sense, their whole cat and mouse game, front man hiding his true nature from gi-hun the same way hannibal does, trying to corrupt the righteous protagonist, sowing chaos, testing him and observing his behavior like a lab rat, the crazy tension and staring contests, the gaslighting and manipulation. and with the fact that they think lee byung-hun looks like mads mikkelsen. i never put the two of them together but now i can’t unsee it lol

[thequeenofsarcaasm]

I feel like Gojo would be a Barbie girlie.

Let me explain.

Although Ruth Handler created her to challenge gender expectations and give little girls the freedom to dream further than motherhood, Barbie remains the quintessence of traditional (white and cishet) womanhood. Despite Mattel’s “efforts” to make her more inclusive and interesting, to the general public Barbie will always be the blond, conventionally attractive doll that most kids, especially girls used to play with. Gojo was born as and remained the pillar of the horribly conservative, predatory and oppressive Jujutsu system despite hating the way it works and making it his life mission to change it. Although he put great efforts into making his students become stronger and reliable, he still represented the traditional values that are so dear to the system. He’s both a “relic” of the old system and a harbinger of changing ideas. Just like Barbie.

Geto would be a Bratz because of the legal issues, his style, his power unexpectedly being important enough to allow him to keep up with Gojo, and all the problems that followed. He craved disruption but was put to rest by Gojo (Barbie vs Bratz copyright infringement lawsuit that Mattel won lol). It gets even funnier when you remember he used to wear a Gojo-kesa and acted like he was Buddha (Gojo) reincarnated.

[expectiations]

thinking (as usual) of how in 2013, Doctor/River and Mattex were in the top 100 ships of the year but i was too young to appreciate that fact

[heavens-sin]

Who do you ship doffy with

law because i thrive on that toxic shit. but that doesn't mean I'm steering clear of other pairings. i like this stick figure with croc. Dofuwani my beloveds. I'm open to pair him with oc's and shit but just realize this fucker aint prince charming. he burns orphanages, he would fuck your mother and father.

[mechtroid]

Okay but also it's kinda not weird? Like, Don't Get Caught Leaking 101 is "don't let them know who you are", preferably down to modifying your punctuation, word selection, and posting times. Pretending to be a different nationality and gender is a reasonable extension of that.

Crazy Buttocks on a Train, one of the most prolific leakers who lasted 7+ years before stopping (likely not even because they got caught) avoided being identified by posting like this:

I'm just dumbfounded by the number of people who saw a leaker, a person whose entire existence hinges on staying anonymous and their identity never being revealed say they're a Japanese woman and went "hey yeah I'm going to trust this person implicitly!"

odd day to be a persona fan

[oh23]

Bruce's child rearing experiences:

Dick: I want vengeance. revenge. i want my mom and dad. youre not my fucking dad. i miss them.i want them back. i'll swing o the fucking chandeliers out of spite. fuck u. youre awesome. i need to kill the man who murdered my parents asap.

Jason: okayyyyy rich asshole this FUCKS !! do u have books- omgg thats sooo dope wowzers. So i don't need to steal tires anymore?? YOU HAVe A PORSC- YOU HAVE 7 ???????

Tim: i need to not be a burden, need to help, i need to be better i need to be the best i cant let him down i can fix him i can fix him

Damian: i need to prove my worth. Father, i will be the perfect heir. i will attempt to eliminate all my competition, as ive been taught. my age shan't hinder The Mission father.

[pikahlua]

In regards to your post on Izuku’s self sacrificial traits, how do you think the dark hero arc plays into this? I thought the point of it was to sort of pull his self sacrificial nature back a bit with the whole “you can’t do it on your own” and “don’t kill yourself for the cause” thing. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive, i get that “bakugou looks up to Deku’s self sacrificial nature as a positive trait he doesn’t have” and “Deku should rely on others and not hurt himself” can both coexist. But they also give mixed messages narratively. Is one not condemning it while the other puts it on a pedestal?

THANK YOU!!! For taking the bait.

I've been ranting about this theme a bit because, from what I can tell, it might be the biggest point MHA is trying to make to answer the question "What is a hero?" Because of MHA's length, the points of the argument have been rather spread out. I think people's understanding of the argument has been distorted by the length of time between the points. Overthinking is the enemy here.

But really, why are people coming away from MHA with the message "Heroes shouldn't sacrifice themselves"? The message is coming from somewhere. The problem is it's probably coming from a conflation of concepts. What is self-sacrifice? That's the question that gets at the root of the problem here.

In the west, "sacrifice" has negative connotations. "Something is lost." "Someone suffers for the sake of a goal." "Someone gives up something." The focus is entirely on the pain experienced by the one sacrificing.

But the point MHA is trying to make is that there's a difference between "suffering loss" and the sacrifices a true hero makes. Izuku isn't a remarkable hero because he's willing to destroy himself at the drop of a hat. The focus is not on his drastic behavior but on the recipients of his drastic behavior. The point is, sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice is meaningless, but sacrifice for the sake of others, well, now we're getting somewhere.

It's the "for the sake of others" part that matters here. Izuku is a hero because he cares for others, because he wants to save others, and what he's willing to sacrifice to accomplish that is merely the measure of his conviction, of his heart.

The quality of self-sacrifice is a core trait measured just to gain enrollment at UA, the most prestigious hero school in the country. Self-sacrifice is fundamental to being a hero. Do you really think the point of the MHA story is to demonstrate how self-sacrifice is a bad thing, that heroes shouldn't sacrifice themselves? Do you think the rest of Class 1-A wouldn't be willing to sacrifice themselves should the need arise so long as it's in order to save someone?

The difference between Izuku and the rest of the world, at least at the beginning, is that he is sensitive to calls for help. He is able to perceive those in trouble that others cannot perceive. Others get confused by the context or are not in a constant state of listening for cries for help. Others cannot always tell when is the right time to act or if acting is the correct choice. Izuku never wavers in the face of such questions. He always acts, because he cannot help but act. It is who he is. It's his nature to be this way. And this is the spirit that slowly influences his classmates and the rest of society, this is the spirit Katsuki fears and later comes to emulate, this is the ideal Izuku admires in his hero All Might for which he always strives.

Heroes want to save, but some of them just don't know how--and Izuku teaches them how. Izuku teaches them that, for true heroes, to save others is more important than anything else they could ever want. It is more important than their self-perceived weaknesses, than their egos, than their desires for vengeance, than their small-time dreams, no matter how noble or justified or important any of those things might be. To be called a hero, one must be prepared to risk it all.

These are the traits Hero Killer Stain wishes to promote in society. These are the qualities he exonerates from assassination. A person who lives for the sake of "service to others" is the sort of person who has more right than anyone to "cling desperately to life." Society needs such people, and for that very reason such people need to stay alive. This is the collectivist ideal. If everyone is concerned for the well-being of others, then everyone is looking out for everyone else. If you're ready to save others and risk yourself to do so, others will risk themselves to make sure you make it out alive too, and thus everyone is protected. If you do end up perishing due to self-sacrifice, it is a tragedy, not self-determination, but then your actions still protected the whole, and the whole will continue to protect everyone in it to the best of their abilities because your self-sacrifice was appreciated and the spirit of your goodness carries on in others.

But that's a whole lot of waxing poetic about self-sacrifice. I did acknowledge that people are picking up a critical message. Where then is the criticism?

It comes from Shouta Aizawa.

Aizawa is the major proponent of rationality in this case. Self-sacrifice = good is not the end of the philosophy. It is as you say, something must balance it out.

People often think Aizawa's philosophy boils down to "I don't want heroes to be self-sacrificial," but that's not actually what he's saying. Aizawa's philosophy is to make the distinction between self-sacrifice and self-destruction.

"Being self-sacrificing isn't the same...as being suicidal. Many kids confuse the two. So I'll give them what they want. A 'death,' so to speak."

The hallmark of heroic self-sacrifice is that it's done for the sake of others. Self-destruction is different; it is for the sake of the self. Some people would take the chance to mask their self-destruction as self-sacrifice by looking for a way to die while saving others. That's not the point of heroic self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is a last resort. You save a person in trouble because you care about preserving their well-being no matter the cost, but some sacrifices are not in balance. Say someone is trapped in a room and you want to get them out, and you have a battering ram and a bomb. Should you strap a bomb to your body and explode open that door to let the person out? Wouldn't that be a heroic sacrifice to save someone? No! It's certainly a sacrifice, but it's not a heroic one. You should act to preserve ALL well-being, including your own. Use the damn battering ram.

Consider the circumstances at play in the quirk assessment test. Izuku was ready to sacrifice his entire arm, his physical constitution, for the sake of demonstrating his power. What does Izuku incapacitating himself achieve were Aizawa to let him do so? It would merely be to prove his strength to someone. No one is at risk here. No one needs saving. Izuku has no person to receive the good will of his self-sacrifice.

"Whatever you were planning...it would have inconvenienced those around you."

"You're totally useless after saving just a single person."

Self-sacrifice is still a sacrifice, which means it has costs and consequences. Who loses because of self-sacrifice? Many people. The person who sacrifices themself loses their life or well-being, which, if others asking for help are worth saving because you believe all people are equal, then you are also worth saving and in just as much need of help. Additionally, your loved ones are harmed because they care about you. And the rest of society suffers because it was better for having you in it; you can no longer save anyone else. To save the most people possible, a hero should strive to survive. A hero should strive to win.

Taken all together, you get the philosophy that allows Katsuki's team to triumph during the Joint Training Arc, which was the entire point of this match. Note how all the above logic is summed up quite succinctly by the gremlin himself.

Katsuki is dedicated to winning the match and leads the charge, but that puts him at risk of being targeted. However, he's willing to be in that vulnerable state because he trusts others to save him. That's what empowers him to put himself on the line. His goal is a complete victory, which means that self-sacrifice is considered a loss. There are costs and consequences, and heroes should do their best to mitigate them. Katsuki is doing everything in his power to reduce the necessity of self-sacrifice, but not because he thinks self-sacrifice is bad. He thinks needless self-sacrifice is bad, and so he strives to eliminate the need for it.

But that means he does acknowledge that there are times self-sacrifice is necessary. He's grown up afraid of Izuku's heart because Izuku demonstrates how easily self-sacrifice comes to him, and that puts Katsuki on the spot. Katsuki doesn't know if he is capable of self-sacrifice. Because he's so competent and strong, he's never noticed a need for sacrifice in his life. He's never had to demonstrate self-sacrifice, and if that's such a fundamental part of being a hero, Katsuki doesn't know if he really is a hero at heart.

But as I mentioned above, the reason he never had a chance to display self-sacrifice as a trait is because he lacked the ability to tell when people need saving. He looks around and sees a bunch of people who are wasting their potential. He thinks some people who seem to ask for help are much more capable than they behave.

Note how Katsuki failed his hero license exam. If Katsuki had stuck around the triage center and fought Gang Orca when he showed up, Katsuki likely would have passed. But Katsuki decided to forego battle to run around and save people. And hilariously enough, the bystanders who dock Katsuki points point out that Katsuki correctly identified them as low-priority targets to save. He's pretty good at figuring out who DOESN'T need saving. They end up docking him points because of his inappropriate tone, which is possibly the funniest way they could have said "Well you're technically right but also holy crap you're bad at this."

And that's the point. Katsuki knows saving people is important, and he perceives Izuku is the absolute best at it. Katsuki is constantly looking for a way to compete with Izuku in this realm because he has to. Katsuki wants to be the best, and to do so he has to improve in this area. Izuku pisses him off because he is extremely adept at perceiving calls for help from those who truly need it, and Katsuki notices every time Izuku is faster on the uptake. It happens at the sports festival with Shouto, which is why Katsuki considers the sports festival a loss.

Katsuki does get better at this, and that's what allows him to eventually get his hero license. Think of his behavior during the school cultural festival, where he sees his classmates trying to appease their peers out of guilt. That's people pleasing. That's ego. Katsuki won't have any of it. From his perspective, if Class 1-A wants to make sure everyone has a good time, then everyone means everyone. Class 1-A has to enjoy the festival too, and the best way to do that is to throw a badass concert. By enjoying themselves and being proud of their well-earned accomplishments, by thriving, Class 1-A demonstrates to their peers how to best win against all those tragedies that tried to bring them down. Self-deprecation for the sake of appeasing others' ill will when that ill will is unjustified is just self-gratification. It's just a way to stop feeling guilty, but the only purpose that serves is to debase yourself. Class 1-A didn't do anything wrong to the other classes, so Class 1-A does not need to atone to them. Self-sacrifice in this case brings no benefit to anyone. Instead, the classes should all be thriving together.

All of these lessons converge in the Dark Deku arc. Others express worry for Izuku's behavior because they see him as engaging in self-destruction. They want him to rest, but Izuku perceives there are people in need of help, so he can't help but save them. And not everyone condemns Izuku's behavior.

Kudou encourages it.

The problem at play in this arc is the question of power. Izuku has power, which means he is capable of saving people. And many people are in need of saving. How many people can one finite Izuku save? That is the question he is set to answer. He is facing the same question as All Might, but All Might's example was to save people while he was losing One For All. All Might had a finite amount of power that he was going to lose in time, so he decided to spend that dwindling power on saving as many people as he could. That would be the more virtuous use of his finite power.

But All Might's flaw was in rejecting the help of others when others were capable of helping him. Izuku falls into the same trap. He thinks he has to save people alone because he's the only one capable of it.

This is Kudou's spoken caveat. "Inaction is not an option," so yes Izuku needs to be acting in this moment. "That said...if there's anything that could bolster Izuku Midoriya now, it would be..."

The answer is not merely "friends." We are given the answer that Izuku needs friends at first, but this is a special type of friend. Izuku needs friends who "share his resolve," who "can match his pace...and keep running alongside him." Izuku needs comrades (nakama)! He needs friends who want to save just as much as he does. He needs friends who are just as capable as he is. That's why Class 1-A has to first demonstrate their capabilities to Izuku so that he can be convinced.

Katsuki doesn't criticize Izuku's ideals either. In fact, he openly praises them.

All Katsuki is saying here is "You're doing the right thing. Saving people, even at cost to yourself, is the right thing. We want to help. We can help. Don't reject us.

"Don't pay a price when you don't have to."

tl;dr

In a collectivist society, the ideal is that everyone looks out for each other, thus is everyone protected.

Self-sacrifice has costs to the self, to one's loved ones, and to society. The price paid must be worth the good achieved.

The virtue in self-sacrifice is that it is done when necessary for the sake of others. Anything less is self-destruction, which is harmful to society.

Heroes have a duty both to be prepared to self-sacrifice and to mitigate the need for self-sacrifice.

Rejecting the help of others who are capable of helping is to reject the collectivist ideal.

Izuku's self-sacrifice is virtuous BECAUSE IT IS FOR OTHERS' SAKES. Izuku's self-destruction and rejection of help from others are what the story criticizes.

Izuku Midoriya's nature represents the ideal of self-sacrifice because of his innate desire to save others, and Katsuki Bakugou recognizes that trait as core to being a hero and thus admires Izuku for it--but he's also afraid he doesn't have that trait for a large chunk of the story. Izuku's journey to accepting the help of others, Katsuki's journey to discovering his self-sacrificing spirit, and their mutual admiration of each other all provide the perspective for the audience to understand this ideal: heroes are those who live in service of others.

[artfartt]

[exqu1s1tecorpse]

i cannot begin to articulate the brain rot i’ve been experiencing over devil’s minion and depeche mode. because..???

violator was literally written so that i could imagine those two little freaks in scenarios. halo?? sweetest perfection? DANGEROUS?!???? those songs are about them.

and don’t even get me started on songs of faith and devotion. that album was also targeted, have y’all heard in my room???? quite literally their song like they definitely saw them in concert multiple times idc

[hoenn-pride]

Man do you ever just think about how.... hardenshipping was ALWAYS going to be the natural conclusion of the game from the moment they sat down and decided that the gimmick of the region was going to have two warring teams.

Like hardenshipping has some sort of pre-baked, innate canonicity with the way that Pokemon games always resolve themselves. Especially as it pertains to the way the Hoenn region was designed.

What I mean by this is,

In Pokemon, the lesson is always "working together makes us stronger." It is always about the power of friendship, it is always about found families, it is always about settling differences with love etc etc etc. Except. This is on STEROIDS in the Hoenn region because this is a theme and a message that was deliberately sought out when they designed the game.

The Hoenn region is a region of duality. It is all about opposites and counterbalance. The names of the cities are mostly two words put together as opposed to color names in the past. Team Aqua and Team Magma. Groudon and Kyogre. Plusle and Minun. Latios and Latias. Solrock and Lunatone. Zangoose and Seviper. Volbeat and Illumise. How Wurmple can evolve into either Silcoon or Cascoon. How Clamperl can evolve into either Huntail or Gorebyss, making both of those sets of Pokemon counterparts to one another.

The REGION itself is split almost evenly in physical makeup between land and water. Which is what made it seem like there was a shit ton of water because there was. There has never been as much water in a Pokemon game as there was in Hoenn, and it was because they were physically trying to balance the water and the land. There's a giant uninhabitable volcano in the center of the region perfectly counterbalanced on the map by a giant, habitable crater in the center of the ocean. Complements and counterparts color the entire region, often quite literally in red and blue. Like almost anywhere you look in Hoenn, it is ideologically (and sometimes physically) symmetrical in design.

The name of the region comes from love and relationships, for god's sake.

And so then you have the Hoenn region, named after a word that literally means love and relationships, being themed around this very concept, in a game series that ALREADY focuses on those things. As like. The core component of the franchise.

So the Hoenn region has "the power of love and friendship" on fucking STEROIDS.

And they DOUBLE and TRIPLE down on this metaphor that they already did not need to double and triple down on in the remakes with the inclusion of the "Hoenn Rangers Coexistence Force," whose sole existence seems only to be to call out Archie and Maxie specifically, as they are about promoting the peaceful coexistence of people, nature, and pokemon. Blatant passive-aggressive reference to Archie and Maxie, who are locked in some sort of odd, eco-ideological warfare with each other playing out over the large-scale arena of the entire fucking region.

And the fact that they canon used to be on a team together and clearly split due to their differences (you know. Like how a lot of these region's Pokemon have split evolutions and counterparts etc etc etc).

The Hoenn region is rife with all this fucking duality.

And so, naturally, the Pokemon plot does what Pokemon plots do, and uses like a 12 year old child to tell our bad guys that the power of love and friendship is actually all they need.

And for the most part, in most games, that would be where it would end. The villain and the evil team fades off into obscurity, after they learned their lesson.

Except, Archie and Maxie don't have that option. Because they have each other.

Team Rocket, while still technically present, disappears from the game after you beat them. Cyrus disappears. Ghetsis disappears. Colress just fucking hangs out with you, kind of. Lysander disappears. Lusamine disappears. I don't fucking know what Rose does but god in hell I'm sure he doesn't contribute anything meaningful. Turo and Sada go off to a different fucking reality altogether.

All of the other villains disappear because they have learned their lesson. What are they going to do? Be besties with the player in the post game? Colress is the only one who gets remotely close to this, and he's locked on a little ship in one area once you beat the game. These individual leaders rightfully learn their lesson, rightfully go off on their own to reflect and grow or go to prison or die, and we just assume that because we beat them, that's the end. There is nothing more for them to resolve, because they have resolved their conflict with us.

But not Archie and Maxie. Because Archie and Maxie's main point of conflict was not with you. It was with each other.

ALL of the other villains have NO ONE to amend with once you finish the main line story of the game, because they have already ended the conflict with you. Therefore, in all other iterations of them that exist (for example, in Masters) they can just be "Ho ho ho I am GenericEvilTeamLeader" who did a bad thing.

But not Archie and Maxie. Because Archie and Maxie were depicted having their main conflict with each other, and not you, any piece of media that wishes to depict them post-events of their games (aka, post their lessons-learned) MUST depict them together. In order to demonstrate that they have taken this lesson about the "true power of friendship" to heart, we must see them putting that into practice.

And due to the nature of Hoenn being about coexistence, natural complements, and duality, Archie and Maxie must then conclude to work together and harmonize with one another just as their opposing elements do, just as the entire rest of their fucking region does. They are the living embodiments of the inner conflict, the duality and complement and turmoil and harmony that the entire region of Hoenn was built upon.

And THIS is why, to this day, in the year of our good Groudon 2023, we are STILL getting new content of them being so close to one another. Why Pokemon Masters has just basically become Hardenshipping Truthers DLC. Because now, in order to demonstrate that Archie and Maxie have taken some semblance of their lesson to heart, they must be depicted working together. As they were always created to do.

Archie and Maxie were created to be at war with one another, but this was because they were also created to learn the lesson that they must work with one another, because that is the lesson of Hoenn, and that is the lesson of Pokemon as a whole.

So from the very moment the devs sat down and said "we are going to make two warring teams," Archie and Maxie's destinies were invariably linked together, and basically hardenshipping content was always going to be the natural conclusion of that.

They really invented gay people with this one. I just..,,

*slaps Hoenn region* this bad boy can fit so much fucking symbolism in it

[iggydustmop]

Okay, I guess today is my day for McLennon Hot Takes. This one is a little less McLennon focused, and more John & Yoko focused.

So the story goes, that, in 1975, Yoko had John come over to get hypnotized for stopping smoking, and somehow brainwashed him into reuniting with her.

I’m here to call bullshit! Here’s my very logical take on what happened, based on the objective facts we have available:

1. We know John & Yoko wanted to have a baby, and had really struggled to do so

2. We know they had sought out fertility treatments, and one herbalist was credited for helping them achieve Sean’s conception.

3. Sean was born on October 9, 1975. Now, if he had been fully cooked (I want to say he was maybe a month early?), that puts his conception in mid-January (source: my kid was born on September 30 and was definitely conceived on new year’s.)

4. Normally, when someone gets pregnant - especially with a history of miscarriages and a high-risk scenario like a geriatric pregnancy (sadly the term they use for anyone over 35, and Yoko was 42) - they don’t talk about it for at least the first trimester, if not longer.

5. We know that Paul had talked to John about Yoko being open to reconciliation in 1974 in LA

6. We know John had moved back to NY by early 1975

7. We know that John & Yoko were never really out of touch, and would get together on occasion prior to their official reunion

So…what does that tell us?

If we look at the facts, the story this spins is pretty straightforward: There was probably a deal that, if Yoko were to actually get pregnant, she and John would reunite. It sounds like she was still actively trying even while they were separated, if they have a specialist who they credit with Sean’s conception.

Sean was very likely conceived at the end of January or the beginning of February…

…which also aligns with when John got to go home.

What makes more sense here? That John got brainwashed by a hypnotist? Or that Yoko actually got pregnant, and he didn’t really have a plausible reason to provide without betraying Yoko’s privacy? Seems pretty logical that he perhaps had “an appointment to attend with this hypnotist” as a cover for a doctor’s appointment, and as soon as he heard the news, he was completely on-board with going home and being a dad. Again though, given the precarious state of the pregnancy, it *also* makes sense that he wouldn’t say anything about it until things were much further along.

“But what about recording in New Orleans with Paul???”

Great question! It might have been that he agreed that, if Yoko went through with the pregnancy, he’d step back from music in order to help her and care for the baby once it got here. You know who would have been super duper understanding of prioritizing family in that way? Paul McCartney. Or maybe John was just so bamboozled by the fact that he’s having a damn baby and reunited with his wife that it took the wind out of his sails for making music.

Regardless, there’s a number of completely obvious explanations that don’t involve Yoko manipulating or scheming or brainwashing John.

[expectiations]

i respectfully disagree. The Doctor has been shown that he gets jealous and possessive over River.

In s5 Time of Angels/Flesh of Stone, 11 gets all jealous when he thought River and Father Octavian were engaged "in a manner of speaking". (There needs to be more GIFs of this scene)

In the Christmas special "The Husbands of River Song", 12 huffs and puffs every other moment at seeing River around King Hydroflax and Ramone.

Later as they're trying to keep the ship from crashing, they have a discussion on his jealousy and River reminds him of his other marriages and he's like "but I never told them my damn name Rivah! I never dressed up and took them on dates! I never offered them to come travel with me several times twice only to be turned down! I never preen every time before I go see them! I don't seek them out! I don't wear a wedding ring to commemorate those marriages! I don't let them assume I'm some random nobody but immediately introduce who I am! And I definitely don't let them drag me around on a 'whatever it was you had going on' spree!" Oh we didn't see that happen but they definitely had that conversation offscreen.

anyways, some people argue that they have an open marriage. it depends on who you're asking really. considering that the Doctor's line of thought is "River + marriage = love" and got all despondent watching River manipulate one guy after the other and thought oh perhaps i'm not really that special but he is the idiot he is. but River, on the other hand, is "not a marriage person" and Moffat once said she married every single species out there. at the end of the day, no matter how many others River may have dated, flirted, banged, even married with, the only person who holds her hearts is the Doctor as she once told Jack when he made her choose between him and the Doctor (i refuse to speak on how he didn't respect her 'no' and chased her all over the universe instead and even tricked 12 into leaving Darillium just so he could have River. like Jack, no. fucksake no. BigFinish whatthefuck? that's the farthest thing from being romantic. but i did say i refuse to speak on that.)

what was my point again? oh yeah, River does have other spouses but the Doctor definitely gets jealous (even gets jealous over their other selves lol) and they haven't cheated, considering that they barely know how to interact with people at times. (notice how 11 ups his flirting game during s6 onwards for and because of River? yeah)

anyway, i'd just like to do away with the notion that the Doctor does not get jealous over River Song's other spouses, including his other selves.

The Doctor x River Song:

And I love ‘em for it <3

[afrofairysblog]

Oof , today I thought it was gonna be a normal Tumblr day, so I checked in the sydcarmy tag, and what I see is MESS !!!! That being said I wish the couple the best cause at the end of the day we don't know these people and that's ok(even tho being parrasocial and delusional will kick your ass speaking from and still experience)

‼️ However, we still need to continue fighting the good fight because SYDCARMY WILL BE ENDGAME. Like we are already trying to recover from the shambles of Sydcarmy S3(which can be lack thereof or just angst galore) so we will be expecting well written fanservice and idc what somepeople say cause it will benefit the show than cause it harm if you play the numbers right. Because Storer and Calo ( you know its serious when i invoke their last names lol) look at the material, the chemistry, untapped storylines , moments that can be award winning memorable gag worthy tv period and the eagered fans and casual potential viewers waiting to see what happens next to them,etc. Like MAKE IT HAPPEN‼️

To end this rant, all I'm gonna say is...... FILMS UPDATED YOU ARE MESSY ASF😭🤣

[stickidystickblog]

I hope y’all like traditional Also, in my professional opinion, I believe Moon deserves a soft lavender cloud cape with a galaxy underbelly complete with hand embroidered stars I just think it’s something he should have

[arthur-lesters-left-arm]

malevolent 42 but arthur’s last words to john are “this is going to ruin the tour”

[new-berry]

Oh no! Their completely real and not PR arranged romance is over!

(For the record I know nothing about the real lives of either person. But can easily believe they decided to bone PR be dammed! because they are both smoking hot and should not have to deal with uggos.)