#their friendship is so important to me actually

[doveywovy]

modern au where izuna is in a tragic accident and it puts him in a coma and tobirama is like sweet, a way to practice friendship. because tobirama has absolutely zero friends except his brother, who's been pissed at him for over a year. so- he needs the practice.

so every day he goes in to visit and he changes out the flowers at izunas bedside and fixes the sheets and updates him in what's been happening while he's in the coma. with all the tact he has, which is very little.

tobirama: hello izuna. class went well today. you would've liked the chemistry lesson. your cousin hikaku broke down crying behind the school because he misses you. your other cousin obito called me a slur when he noticed i saw this and then he chased me down and shoved my head into a toilet. the cafeteria was serving cold rice again at lunch. this concludes my report. get well soon.

what tobirama is unaware of is that this is the kind of coma that izuna is actually largely aware of whats happening around him, he just can't respond or move in any way. so he knows about tobiramas daily visits and updates and weird attempts at friendship. (tobirama's consistant reports on class lessons actually means when he wakes up, he doesn't need to do too much to catch up on work.)

so when izuna finally wakes up, he decides to do his own crazy move- to lie that they've always been friends, actually. best friends. joined at the hip practically. tobirama assumes this is some kind of brain damage situation but gleefully takes the opportunity to have a friend. izuna uses the justification of them being lifelong friends to violate a number of boundaries and behave in completely inappropriate ways.

madara also assumes this is some kind of brain damage consequence and considers tobirama an evil blight on his brother's life that must be vanquished. he keeps desperately trying to prove that they didn't get along before izuna's coma, but izuna just keeps making up loopholes and excuses to disprove his evidence.

eventually izuna tearfully confesses that madara is right, there's no physical proof of their lifelong friendship....because he himself destroyed it all! he and tobirama were/are actually boyfriends, see, but he was so worried that his brother would be homophobic about it that he never kept proof of their relationship! his close call with death has made him realize the importance of treasuring the time he has with tobirama, even if.... (loud sob) even if madara is being even MORE homophobic about this than he had once feared.....(Sob)

madara: oh. uh. i. uh

hashirama: madara.....how could you.....

[jeonscatalyst]

I'm basic and like Woosan and Minsung lol. Like, I'm a sucker and click on the YouTube shorts / tiktoks about their chemistry or how they're whipped for each other.

That said, I think if anything, the presence of fan service is a pretty clear indicator that the relationship is platonic lol. Like, if two members were actually dating, flirting, etc. then they'd keep it hidden from the public and probably other idols/industry folks, too.

i saw this on my timeline from a stan of another group. but aren't they telling the truth ? will a real couple be that public with their gay relationship with their bandmate ? Its very unlikely 2 men who have a secret relationship behind the scenes will flaunt it for public to see in their homophobic country, especially knowing its harmful for them their group their company their families etc. Going on trips, filming and releasing it, saying you got bitten, allowing staff to film it, having numerous skinship moments on screen and on stage - especially when one is extra private and professional to the point he even hides his iphone airpods which he shares with his supposed bf because they have a contract with samsung and the one who is stalked every 2 days by his y/n saesangs who apparanlty doesnt know about his sexuality or relationship with bandmate, huh?. This all sums up to them being genuine platonic friends who are playing up for their fans and doesnt mind being called a couple. None of heavily shipped duos in other groups doesnt shy away from pda, even teasing fans in their live streams because at the end of the day they are close friends who have nothing hidden going on or to fear.

Its naive to think jikook are a real couple who should be protected in their homophobic country(or world in general) and from crazy fandom when its Jikook themselves who are exhibiting their friendship in homoromantic way for public to see. Make it make sense ?

Hi anon,

So what I’m reading is that you and others see it too? You see exactly what we see…you recognize that the way Jimin and Jungkook behave with each other could easily lead anyone to believe their relationship isn’t purely platonic. Yet, rather than acknowledge that possibility, you attempt to rationalize it by arguing that a real couple, especially in a homophobic country, wouldn’t behave so openly but would instead go to great lengths to hide their relationship. Noted.

But that raises an important question: who set the rules on how people in such circumstances are supposed to behave? Sure, there are common expectations for how individuals might act in certain situations, but the truth is, we can’t possibly know the full extent of their reality. Unlike them, we don’t have firsthand insight into their experiences, nor can we accurately gauge the risks involved the way they can.

Every time I see arguments like yours, I can’t help but roll my eyes. It’s painfully clear that many people don’t understand the first thing about queer history or the ways in which queer individuals have learned to navigate a world that hasn’t always accepted them. Queer people have mastered the art of hiding in plain sight. For most, that’s second nature because, at some point in their lives, they’ve had to conceal at least parts of who they are. But let’s not forget that humans are, well, human….we aren’t always calculated. There are times when emotions override logic, and in those moments, people who are forced to hide often end up revealing more than they intend. Those are the moments where we catch glimpses of something real.

Idols, of course, are expected to engage in fanservice…it’s practically built into their job. They understand that many of their actions, especially on stage, will automatically be dismissed as just fanservice. So tell me, Anon, if you were a queer person who had spent years perfecting the art of blending in, what better way would there be to take advantage of moments where people are already primed to excuse your actions as something else?

Also, I have to wonder, do you honestly believe that most Jikookers ship Jimin and Jungkook purely because of what they do on stage or because of this “fanservice”? Because if so, that only proves how little you actually understand. There’s far more to why we believe they could be in a romantic relationship than just their stage interactions.

You brought up examples like: “Would a closeted couple go on a private trip, take videos, and post them?” And to that, I have to ask: Do you realize what you just admitted? The fact that you even question whether a closeted couple would do something like that means that, on some level, you also perceive those actions as non-platonic. So instead of asking whether a couple in a homophobic country would behave a certain way, why not ask yourself: Why would two “just friends” do these things in the first place?

Regardless of whether Jungkook filmed and posted GCF, the fact remains that he took Jimin to Tokyo…during a short break, at a time when both were going through a lot. Regardless of whether Hickeygate ever saw the light of day, the fact remains that it happened. Jungkook still carried a tipsy Jimin bridal-style, spun him around, and when Jimin wanted to be let down, he bit Jungkook’s neck…an erogenous zone. These things all happened whether we got to know about them or not. And since you’re citing these examples as things a queer couple in a homophobic country wouldn’t do, that means you also recognize that these actions don’t exactly scream platonic friendship. Unless, of course, you’re seriously trying to argue that traveling to Japan together, carrying each other in their arms, and biting each other’s necks in private were all just for the sake of fanservice?

“Its naive to think jikook are a real couple who should be protected in their homophobic country(or world in general) and from crazy fandom when its Jikook themselves who are exhibiting their friendship in homoromantic way for public to see. Make it make sense ? "

No, Anon. I don’t think Jikook are deliberately presenting their friendship in a homoerotic way. I think they’re simply existing and interacting with each other in a way that comes naturally to them. You’re the one perceiving something more…..and that says a lot more about your own instincts than whatever you think Jimin and Jungkook are intentionally doing.

And once again, don’t assume for a second that I, or most Jikookers, believe in Jikook just because of what you call “fanservice.” That’s where non-shippers and rival shippers (honestly, I can’t tell which you are) always get it wrong. You miss the details that people who genuinely pay attention to Jimin and Jungkook as a duo pick up on. The little things….the ones that make all the difference.

Go back and carefully comb through Jimin and Jungkook’s history if you care to. Look at all the little TMI’s we’ve gathered over the years, from staff members, Jikook themselves, from the members and from their friends and acquaintances. Then come back and tell me, honestly, if you still believe that people think there is more going on with Jikook because of “fanservice.”

[ghouljams]

Hey Ghoul, hope your doing well. I'm sending this in hope of some advice. You can totally ignore this if you're uncomfortable. I've gotten myself into a certain situation and I can't stop myself anymore. A few years ago I started exchanging flirty texts with this coworker/friend. We no longer work together but are still in touch, every few months we would grab dinner together (with another friend so we're never alone). The thing is he's married, and recently had his first kid. Our less than friendly interactions started when we were still working together, during his first year marriage they were having issues and he confided in me, and I was having alot of family issues and I leaned on him, and we became close. We never did anything physical, it was more like dirty jokes and occasional flirty comments back then.

Over the last few years it's escalated, I recognize he would text me whenever he was horny and always lead the conversation to suggestive texts. I never started it, but I never stop or discouraged it either.

The thing is (and it's no excuse) I'm in my 30s and I've never been in a relationship, never been the girl guys choose or wanted and am extremely lonely. I like the attention he gives me and I can't stop myself from replying or engaging with him. I want to stop, I don't want to be the other woman. I know he'll probably never leave his wife, certainly not for me.

This is probably the only male attention I've ever gotten in my life, and I know male validation isn't something I should strive for but having never received any it feels nice. It doesn't feel nice being a dirt secret.

I don't know. Thanks for reading if you got this far...I just don't know how to stop myself

Wow. This is a lot friend. I want to start by saying I think for your friend's wife's sake I think you should block him.

While you're not without blame in this situation, this man also sounds like absolute trash for letting this go on this long without stopping. He has a wife and child, and any good person would not be cheating on their partner like this. That said, you should show some compassion for not just the wife but yourself and get this man out of your life asap.

This validation and attention feels good in the moment because it's fleeting and you don't have to worry about any of the hard relationship stuff, you get the pay off of "you're hot" without any of the emotional stuff of a relationship, and as good as it feels in the short term it's not going to help you in the long run. Which you already know because you've said it doesn't feel nice being a dirty secret.

Now. It is a terrifically false statement that you have "never been the girl guys choose or want." It is an unkindness to yourself and a categorically untrue thing to say. You don't know how many people have seen you and wanted you or known you and never said anything about wanting you. And to wallow in self-pity and say "but I do, and that number is zero" is just stupid. It's stupid and it's unkind to the people that pined for you, it's also just-

like there's a measure of self-centeredness to self-loathing that I think makes people think they know other people and how they should think better than they actually do. You don't know how many people or who has loved you for 30 years, and unfortunately you probably never will, but to assume that number is zero is just statistically improbable.

I've been where you are, when you've never gotten what you think every other woman does it's intoxicating to get that male attention. You feel almost honored that you finally got cat called, that some guy is giving you attention through flirty texts, that people are liking your bikini photos, or your male friend from college is rekindling your friendship. Craving this sort of validation isn't great, but it's understandable. What I think is more important to realize is that these men don't respect you, or care for you, and are using you as a means to an end.

You should block him because you deserve better than being a dirty secret, and you should start trying to love yourself more. Just because you're not your type doesn't mean you're no one's type, and just because you've never dated doesn't mean no one has wanted to date you. Most people cannot identify when someone is flirting with them, but that doesn't mean people weren't trying.

Give yourself some credit, and this guy's wife some peace of mind.

[nameless-jamie]

TARTT'S CORNER - Jamie Tartt x Y/N

Masterlist - Next Chapter

Chapter 10: Jealousy, Jealousy

TW: swearing, jealousy

A/N: sorry I hate Y/N in this game chapter, but it's important cause she needs an attitude adjustment.

The late afternoon sun bore down on the training grounds of AFC Richmond, casting long shadows over the neatly trimmed grass. Normally, practice was a mix of sharp drills and easy banter, but today, an unmistakable tension crackled in the air—specifically around Jamie Tartt. His movements were sluggish, his passes off, and when he attempted a shot on goal, the ball sailed embarrassingly wide.

"Fucking hell, Tartt!" Roy Kent’s voice cut through the air, laced with irritation. "Are you playin’ or tryin’ to teach the ball how to fuck off in the wrong direction?"

Jamie exhaled sharply, hands on his hips, sweat dripping from his brow. "M’fine," he muttered, rolling his shoulders as if that would shake off whatever had sunk its teeth into him.

Roy wasn’t convinced. Not even a little. He narrowed his eyes and, after practice wrapped up, pulled Jamie aside into the boot room.

"Ew, what are we doin' in here Roy. You tryin' to kill me by suffocation?"

Roy rolled his eyes at this dumb twat, former-prick he called his "friend".

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You've been playing like a little bitch."

Jamie groaned, running a hand through his damp hair. "Nothin’—just a shit day, okay?"

"Bullshit," Roy shot back immediately. "Your game’s been off for days, and I know when a player’s distracted by something stupid. And I’m bettin’ it’s got somethin’ to do with Y/N again. God, why the fuck can't you guys just get your shit together, fuck and get it over with."

Jamie tensed. "We did that actually..." Roy had to fake a shocked look at that. He couldn't possibly tell Jamie that his not-yet-lover already told him everything about that during brunch. In detail. Too much detail... "When I took these sick days last week, I went to Manchester because I've been like heartbroken an' stuff. Keeley was worried and paid me a visit at me mum's house. She told me to just be Y/N's friend, nothin' more. Said it’s better this way, and that'll settle everything between us."

Roy’s face twisted into a look of utter disdain. He knew Keeley visited Jamie to talk sense into him, he knew all about that obviously. It was his plan after all. But telling Jamie that he should friend zone Y/N. That wasn't the plan. To Roy, the plan was "Get them together, so they can be happy and finally shut the fuck up!" not cause more drama and make to people that have the hots for each other be friends!

"And you fuckin’ listened to her?"

Jamie scowled. "I told Y/N how I felt, Roy! I poured me fuckin' heart out and she just fuckin' left and then acted like nothin' happened during that damn podcast. Then I thought I got me shit together and took Keeley's advice, so I told Y/N we're just friends now. Told her I understood her worries about us and that I'm such an 'understanding guy'. But I'm not, I'm a fuckin' selfish prick. Because the day after I told her I thought: Fuck friendship. I want to kiss her, everyday mate. You feel meh?"

"And what the fuck is stopping you, you twat?" Roy rolled his eyes, the situation was migraine-inducing to him. He knew they both love each other, but they just can't seem to figure it out, fucking idiots!

"Nah, she wants to be friends now too. Acting like we're mates and shit. Yesterday she asked me when I would be ready for another podcast recordin', Roy. She texted me a fuckin' yellow heart. A YELLOW HEART, ROY! She's stuck on that friendship thing. I ruined it. Train’s already left the fuckin’ station."

Roy exhaled heavily through his nose, crossing his arms. He knew that Y/N is just playing along with Jamie's friendship request because she is too scared to confess to him. Too scared of total rejection. Coward.

"That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. And I’ve listened to Keeley try to explain the plot of Love Island to me. How the fuck do you even send hearts on your phone?"

"It's an Emoji, the heart's an Emoji. You don't know how to send Emoji's granddad?" Jamie let out a dry laugh, but Roy wasn’t done.

"Listen. Y/N’s not stuck anywhere, Jamie. She’s just bein’ a stubborn idiot. And so are you. I know her well enough, to know that she wants more than friendship with you. For whatever reason... So, you want her to stop pretending she don’t want you? Make her realize what she’s about to lose if she doesn't make a move."

Jamie frowned. "And how the fuck am I supposed to do that?"

Roy’s lips quirked upward into the closest thing he had to a smirk. "Like I said show her what she could be missing. Like in fucking chess. Force her to make the next move. Make her jealous for all I care. You have to tickle the feelings out of her."

Jamie blinked. "You want me to play chess with her—"

"Fuuuuck, ok I forgot that you're a fucking idiot for a second." Roy had to take a breather for a second, a plan developed inside his brain

"Ok, here's how you're going to do it right: There's this dumb Richmond event tomorrow, where we'll have to mingle with the fucking sponsors of the team, yeah? Keeley told me she invited Y/N to join her. Simple, you take a date to that event," Roy explained. "Make it someone proper fit. Someone who makes Y/N’s eye twitch just lookin’ at her. Show Y/N what it feels like to sit on the other side of the fence. If Y/N wants something really bad, she'll take it. Even if it's you, in this case."

Jamie considered it, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "And you think that’ll work?"

Roy palmed his face at that. "Tartt, she already fuckin’ likes you. She just don’t wanna admit it. You get under her skin and force her to deal with it. You want her or not?"

A slow grin spread across Jamie’s face. "Alright. Let’s make her jealous as fuck."

"Ok. Now tell me what an Emoji is and how I text one..."

The venue of said event was nothing short of dazzling, with warm golden lights twinkling above the elegantly decorated ballroom. The event was actually meant to celebrate AFC Richmond’s achievements for the season, to the players and coaches it was more of a 'kissing-up to our sponsors' kind of event. That's why most of them dreaded it, especially Roy Kent, anti-sociality in person. But this time it would be different, entertaining even. This time Roy could lean back and watch Y/N-Jamie-drama unfold in front of his eyes. Like the drama-loving king, he is.

The room was bustling, all of the players, coaches, and nearly everyone who mattered in the club were in attendance. Even Richmond's most famous football podcaster, Y/N. Looking around the big venue, totally out of place until her eyes landed on a certain striker.

Jamie arrived with his chosen fake date—Lena, an old friend who knew exactly what was going on and had agreed to help. She was gorgeous, tall, and poised, draped in a sleek black dress that hugged her in all the right places. More importantly, she was just flirtatious enough with Jamie to sell the act.

He barely stepped inside before catching sight of Y/N. And fuck, she looked breathtaking. An emerald green dress. The of-the-fucking-shoulder kinda dress, it was killing Jamie.

But then he saw the way she froze when she spotted him with Lena. How her hand clenched around her drink. How she blinked twice, like she was trying to process it. Perfect.

Jamie played it cool, keeping a casual arm around Lena’s waist, but internally, he was burning up. Y/N was so fucking beautiful it made his head spin, and if this whole thing wasn’t a ploy to drive her crazy, he’d be halfway across the room telling her exactly how she made his life hell in the best way possible.

The worst part? He was absolutely, pathetically lovesick. It took every ounce of self-control not to stare at her all night, not to gravitate toward her like a desperate idiot.

"Jamie Tartt bringing a date?" Keeley teased as she strolled up to them. Keeley knew Lena. How? Well, Lena and Keeley've had a friends-with-benefits thing going on years ago. That's also how Jamie knew Lena. Lena, the lesbian supermodel. No ounce of her straight.

Keeley was blonde, but she surely wasn't dumb. She knew that there was a plan going on at the moment. Wondering why sh wasn't in on it... "Well, well. Didn’t think you had it in you, Tartt. Beautiful date." Keeley played along, talking loud enough for Y/N to hear. So, Keeley saw right through the plan and approved of it.

Jamie smirked, pleased that Keeley picked up on the situation so quickly. "What can I say? A man’s gotta move on, right?"

Keeley gave him another knowing look but said nothing, watching as Y/N took a sharp sip of her drink and turned away abruptly.

Lena leaned in, whispering not loud enough for Y/N to overhear, "She’s staring, you know."

Jamie chuckled. "That's the whole point."

Y/N was livid. And worse—she had no right to be livid. Jamie was free to date whoever the hell he wanted. They were just friends after all.

That's what Jamie told her, and she just agreed to it?!

But fuck, why did he have to look so good? And why was his date touching his arm like that? And why was he looking at her with that smug, knowing expression?

"Jamie," Lena turned towards the striker, who was busy watching his target, Y/N, like prey. She whispered. "I don't blame you for staring at her, she's fucking fit. Honestly, if she doesn't confess to you soon, I might just snatch her away from you. But shouldn't you keep making her jealous and not stare her down?"

"Right, right." Jamie thought about what Lena said and composed himself really fast. "She looks like she's goin' to storm over 'er soon. I'm gonna touch your waist and whisper something in your ear, that okay?" Jamie was all about consent, even though it's pretend. Lena nodded.

"Lena, go and get yourself somethin' to drink, she'll come talk to me while you're gone."

If Jamie knew Y/N well enough (which he does), he knew that she would come to talk to him as soon as Lena was out of sight. She was short-fused after all.

Lena nodded. "It's a plan."

And what a plan it was. Y/N didn't leave Jamie and his date out of her sight for the whole evening. As soon as Jamie's date left for the bar, Y/N's feet dragged herself toward Jamie.

She downed her drink and marched towards him before she could talk herself out of it.

"Hi, Jamie. Have a great evening with your date?" she said sweetly, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Did you pick her up from a modeling agency or just order her custom?"

Y/N wasn't like that. She never was. But the big green monster made her a..... bitch. Jealous, Jealousy.

Jamie barely contained his laugh, he didn't know his Y/N could be like that. Roy, standing off to the side, failed miserably at hiding his big fat smirk. He knew it...

"Jealous, are we?" Jamie asked, cocking his head.

Y/N’s jaw clenched. "Of course not. I think it’s adorable how you two are pretending to have chemistry."

Lena, the true MVP, entered their conversation again, finally back from the bar, and played along perfectly. "Oh, Jamie and I have loads of chemistry, don’t we, babe?"

Jamie grinned. "Oh, yeah. Absolute fire."

Y/N gave him a tight-lipped smile and turned her attention towards Lena. "Well hello, I'm Y/N, the girl Jamie said 'I love you' to last week. Don’t let me keep you from your thriving love life. Enjoy your evening."

And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed off. Slightly embarrassed.

Roy walked proudly towards Jamie. "God she’s fucking fumin’. It’s workin’."

Jamie barely held back his laugh. "Fuckin’ hell, she’s so hot when she’s mad."

Lena groaned. "You’re both idiots. How about you go after her now, Jamie?"

Jamie found Y/N outside later that night, arms crossed as she stared at the city lights. He approached slowly, hands in his pockets.

"Y’know," he mused, "you looked ready to throw a punch back there."

She shot him a glare. "Fuck off, Tartt. Don't you want to go back to your date?"

Jamie smirked. "Why? Don’t like seein’ me with someone else?"

Y/N turned to fully face him, eyes blazing. "You’re insufferable."

Jamie stepped closer, his voice dropping. "You don’t have to be jealous, you know. She was just a friend. No strings attached."

Y/N swallowed, her resolve wavering. "Good for you."

Jamie tilted his head, his smile softening. "You can admit it, y’know. You like me."

Y/N’s breath hitched. "Jamie—"

He leaned in, so close she could smell his cologne. "Say it."

But she didn’t. Not yet.

She turned and walked away, leaving Jamie staring after her, his smirk fading into something softer.

She wasn’t ready. But fuck, she was close. He nearly had her.

Their next podcast episode? It was gonna be explosive.

[sideblogdotjpeg]

Extremely small spoilers for the c3 ending warning

But I think a really fun bit of Sol's character that I kinda didn't notice until the final episode is that ever since Irondeep (or maybe even before?), Sol has just been learning how to sew and crochet. And I have extreme respect for Murph letting Sol use that knowledge in the final episode to redistribute the magic of his displacement cloak amongst the party. I just really love those kinds of small character details in fantasy - the hobby they pick up randomly that slowly becomes more and more of a skill as the story progresses.

YES ! sols background knitting/crochet hobby (theyre used kind of interchangeably) is one of my favourite little quirks of his to think about... and if you keep track of its offhanded mentions, it actually weaves (hehe) a really sweet mini-story about sols character !

(teeny tiny mini essay under the cut, because i. have. thoughts)

so! a minor um actually is that sols knitwork is actually brought up pretty much at the VERY start of his character intro;

"...I'm wearing a homemade sweater that is in the same pattern as the standard issue synth knight sweater, but that one didn't fit me, so ive crafted my own as a replica - the sleeves are a little long, i'm still working on it, i like to knit in my spare time to quell my thoughts a bit..." (ep 1)

so we establish 1) he likes to knit, 2) knitting is an almost meditative practice, a very physical-based method of dealing with his thoughts, 3) he wants to fit in with his cohort of synth knights, even though their 'standard' has excluded and rejected him 4) he takes on this rejection without any bitterness, and instead with an optimism that his own personal inadequacies can be overcome by trying his darn best, 5) he's a cute frog in an oversized sweater

it's a pretty small & overall NOT important line that doesn't mean anything, but you COULD interpret it as the introductory, basic threads of meditative practice, community, belonging and identity that return as pretty major elements in sol as a character!

other, pretty major encounters with the knitting/sewing motif:

ep 7: Callie "we're sort of entwined now, right? i mean, our fates are somewhat braided at this point" + sol "if you're saying that we're friends then yes!" (this isn't a sol knitting moment, but good GOD 'our fates are braided' + them later discovering they're peregrine + sol sewing peregrine patches - we LOVE unintentional foreshadowing)

ep 27: Before the king durretar fight, sol gives everyone a peice of black yarn to wrap around their arms, a symbol of the living will they made to each other. Later in the ep, he holds up the band just before he goes down

ep 39: Right before he leaves to return to irondeep, sol gives swag "a little bracelet of yarn, just so we can feel connected" (literally FUCKING RUINOUS when you think about this being THE LAST TIME THEY SEE EACH OTHER FACE TO FACE and all the other moments sol gives his loved ones threads/bracelets. god. actually ruinous)

ep 53 (short rest!): This requires maybe a bit of context... but essentially, its caldwell describing sol's conflict of wanting to save the people he loves VS the growing reality of his inability to do so as, "no matter how big and thick and fluffy a sweater he knits, it always unravels itself"

ep 57: sol plants a piece of thread on the two ice swags (red and purple) as a way to tell them apart

ep 61: sol takes the black band from the king durretar fight and weaves it into a design that he made of the peregrine symbol/callie's sigil so that they can all wear it as a team (and one for a squire too, of course!)

ep 72: sol shreds his displacer scarf & patches up everyone's track jackets with it, to share the protection magic (this does end up saving calder's life i think.... THAT'S THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP BABY.)

finally, also in ep 72: galactic swag returns the night sky to the faewild, and sol comments "now that's knitting..."

I think. All in all. It's like. sol is this guy who, perhaps more than anything else, longs for family, home & community. He found this in launchpad and mothership, and their promise that if he could just work hard enough to prove that he meets their standards, then he CAN fit in and be worthy, and belong, and be part of something big. And over the course of campaign 3, he finds this with duck team.

All these desires for connection are expressed through the small things he knits for the people he loves. It keeps coming up over and over again, sol trying to stitch pieces of himself into his friends. Have this yarn, and this thread, and this bracelet, so you can remember you have someone to fight for and someone fighting for you (i have THOUGHT about this being kind of like a Lady's favor to a knight.... i've THOUGHT about this...) In ep 39, he gives swag a mushroom with the stated purpose that it might let sol know if swag dies. In ep 41, he tells hardwon that "there haven't been many people that I've met that have stuck around and meant something to me". I think you could interpret.... sol's habit of giving little knit gifts to his friends as maybe kind of a manifestation of that worry. that people are going to leave him, and he's going to end up alone again. so the thread of the living will comes back over and over again... no matter where you are, dead or alive, we'll be connected somehow.

You can also interpret all of this in the context of his childhood! in the waterpark ! A place where he was cold, and in danger all the time, and alone, and nobody made any 'big and thick and fluffy' sweaters for him. That the way he responds to this is... by making sure the people that he loves never ever have to feel like that. Here's something to keep you warm, and to remind you that i Know you, I Think of you, and i Love you. Sol just wants to protect all his friends by knitting them up in a big comfy sweater (and by the finale, in a way, he does!)

anyway ! those are my um. my. very minor thoughts about sol & knitting. i think about it a normal amount i promise. it is really REALLY a very fun bit about his character and it is. wonderful to see it evolve over the campaign.

Also since I accidentally went whole hog and wrote a full essay. Um. more sol knitting mentions that I personally find very delightful, although less relevant to this specific analysis:

Ezry arc: "i haven't had a chance to knit in a while, that really mellows me out" < sol's explanation for nearly punching a salamander to death because he kind of reminded him of a completely different salamander guy who had the audacity to go to the movies with albin, once. Really cute because awww he knits to mellow out. and also. god sol is fucking Insane. frog who is for sure possessive a normal and healthy amount

Living Woods arc: the living woods arc has sooo many cute lil sol knitgifts. sol gives calder a reversible beanie that has the initials CK (for calder kilde) and KC (for kalder cilde)... he says he was making it for calders birthday! (i didn't check this particular moment for accuracy, but i DO rmb calder saying smthn to the effect of "this is the nicest thing anyone's ever got for me") ..... this also has the famous callie crochet bra + i THINK sol's knit boots for calder

Irondeep arc: sol makes the infamous knit hammer cover with pompoms for kenna. (he later also makes i think.. a cloth for kenna to clean her hammer? he's trying guys....)

Tsunare arc: callie asks sol to make a gunk bindle

Ice knife arc: EVERYBODY IS REALLY MEAN TO SOLS KNITTING. SOMEBODY DEFEND HIM HE DOESNT DESERVE THIS....

Faewild arc: after calder gives himself a crop top , "i will Happily be your tailor"

Conclusion? this frog loves his friends!!!!!

[neuroticbookworm]

Theory of Love Romcom Rewatch Episode 1: Dear Dakanda

Yesterday I watched Dear Dakanda for the ToL rewatch project and unsurprisingly, spent the whole time facepalming over Mhoo. The movie looked gorgeous, and the cinematography constantly put me in my I Told Sunset About You feels. Yet it was clearly evident that Third had learned all the wrong lessons from this movie, as @lurkingshan pointed out here. The movie follows Mhoo as he makes his way through college, while pining for his best friend, Dakanda, the whole time. He chooses to never speak of his desires and ultimately gets his heart broken when Dakanda starts dating. As the movie ends on an ambiguous note with Mhoo emphasizing how his friendship with Dakanda will never change, I couldn’t help but notice the romanticization of pining, the implied purity of choosing friendship over romance, and how it affected the friendship that Mhoo (and Third) hold so dear.

Both Dear Dakanda and Theory of Love looks like a friends-to-lovers narrative on the surface, but I propose that it is actually a pseudo friends-to-lovers narrative. Mhoo and Third become infatuated with Dakanda and Khai from the very first moment they meet them. Third accepts and enjoys Khai’s friendship, while simultaneously watering his affection for Khai in secret till it’s rooted deep in his heart. This colors every interaction between them, because the parameters of relationship that Khai and Third are operating under are very different. Khai thinks that he is just ditching his dudebro best friend to go spend time with whoever is his Girlfriend of the Week, but for Third it serves as yet another painful reminder that he is never gonna be as important to Khai as Khai is to him.

The show even underscores the difference by having Khai genuinely cross a line that is egregious, by heterosexual male friendship standards. When Khai gets caught by Third after he cancels plans to watch Toy Story 4 together, and instead takes his new girlfriend to the movie, Khai apologizes to Third the next day. Because he knew that watching all the movies of the Toy Story franchise together was an important friendship ritual, especially for film majors such as them, and that it was a real dick move to violate that pact.

Third’s pining causes him undue pain, because his actions when it comes to Khai are not in line with what a friend might do, but rather what a lovesick fool would do. When Khai asked Third why he threw his girlfriend’s stuff in the trash after Khai had asked him to return it to her, a friend would’ve immediately told him that she was the one who told him to toss it all in the garbage. But what did Third do? He stood there and let Khai scream at him, then slinked out to the garbage cans, retrieved the box from inside the trash can, came back in and gave it to Khai, and got the door shut in his face for good measure. Good fucking god.

I am not overlooking Khai's abhorrent behavior in this episode, I felt extremely uncomfortable watching how he treats Third like a doormat every chance he gets. But I will say though, Khai could take Third for granted because Third let him, from the very beginning of their relationship. Mhoo and Third’s secret feelings make their respective friendships disingenuous and lopsided from the get-go, and it was almost tragicomic, watching them convince themselves to pine their hearts out in secret, all in the name of protecting their friendship.

[skeletwinsauaskbox]

Hey, guys! Sorry I didn't answer many questions today. I was having a bit of an off day and my motivation went kerplunk on most things.

Aaaaaaaaaaanyhoo, that said, I'll still try to answer as many questions as I can tonight. But FIRST! I just want to show you guys the upcoming chapters (basically the ones in the planning stage or have already been planned). I have a list of them here, and I'll give cheeky little synopses/tidbits/explanations for the chapters below!

Hehe, it's all under the cut if you wanna read.

Heart Drive (currently writing) - Mettaton and Napstablook will make their debuts in this chapter, but they won't be the main focus. They have significant roles in it, but it's actually focused more on Sans and Alphys' friendship and their flaws. I think it's also the first long Sans chapter too, so that's neat.

Snail Races (planned) - Napstablook is a major character, Gerson makes his debut, and lots of chaos and ancient magic lore. It will also introduce an important plot point involving the twins and how their magic works in this AU.

The Snowdin Snowathon Championships! (planned) - This one's just pure shenanigans, really. Papyrus basically enters an annual sports event and Sans ends up being a goofy commentator for it. I've been thinking about sports events that we humans have and thought, "I wonder if monsters have sports events like we do. What would that look like?" Thus, this chapter was born! Haha!

Undyne and Sans (planned) - A short chapter. Undyne and Sans meet in person for the first time and talk about Papyrus. That's about it.

Ketchup To My Level (planned) - A lot of you send in ketchup-themed asks for Sans, and I understand why! He just hasn't drank ketchup yet! Well, this is a chapter literally all about that, except me being me, I've basically expanded it and contextualised it for this AU. Long story short, Sans kinda goes insane, but in a comedic way. Honestly, I'm excited to write this one.

Spaced Out (planned?) - This is a unique, experimental chapter because the narrator for the majority of this one is not the regular narrator, but SANS AND PAPYRUS THEMSELVES. They come up with this crazy story together with aliens and giant robot dogs. No, nothing makes sense. It's Sans and Papyrus, the definition of goofballs, of course they're not gonna make sense!

Mandatory Training (planning) - Undyne and Papyrus' friendship gets a bit more development, there's a demonstration of the twins' musical powers acting up, and we get Sans being a lazybones and Papyrus showing more of his insecure side. That's all I got so far.

Honestly, I'm trying to make the best of the more goofy chapter before things get a bit more serious in chapter 34 onwards. I consider chapter 34 to be the "turning point" of the fic, honestly, despite it being a short chapter. It's just where things get a bit darker. Enjoy these goofy chapters while you can! :D

Anyway, see ya! I'll get to answering your questions again soon!

[fandom-susceptible]

I've had a lot of thoughts of my own on this topic and I've posted about it just a few minutes ago, but yeah, I'll add onto this because I have thoughts specifically about this analysis too.

So, I do have one small disagreement, which is that I don't think Ezran was burying the hurt when he found the shadowhawk arrow. He says he'd bandaged it and let it heal, and I really think they meant it that way, because that's a narrative statement, not in his thoughts or dialogue. Grief never goes away, obviously, and the pain of losing Harrow will never be gone, but the wound can heal, and I think that's all they meant there. It's not raw and open anymore; finding the arrow just scraped at it. I will come back to this in a minute though.

As far as Rayla's perspective goes, I do agree with what you said, but I also think an important part that keeps getting left out of this conversation is that she is not human. I keep seeing people applying human values and human perspectives to her character, and it happens within the show too (Callum calling her prideful for wanting to stay at the Storm Spire in Season 3 is a prime example of this), because she's so sympathetic to the humans that they forget that she isn't one of them. She is coming at this situation from a very different cultural background.

Her culture, for one, does not see death as an end. Harrow has just moved on to the next phase of his spirit's cycle. Death is a more merciful end than what she was granted for helping Ezran, so while she knows Ezran is human and doesn't outright accuse him of betraying their friendship, it does sort of make sense that her instinct would be to feel betrayed. In her culture, standing by her family and her people are more important than life itself. She's already betrayed those values once to save Ezran and Zym, in a way that resulted in her banishment and, according to Chasing Shadows, her death, culturally speaking. Ghosts aren't just banished, literally her identity as a Moonshadow elf is considered to be worse than dead by her own people, even her name is banned, and she's been grappling with that for years. Now, she has the chance to stand by her father, to finally do something that aligns with both her wider world values and her cultural ones, and Ezran has become an obstacle. She's also well-established as being less than careful with her words when she's distressed.

Callum's role in this also rings very true to me. I see the point about how he maybe shouldn't have led with calling his brother a jerkface - but as an older sibling, yeah, that tends to be how you get the little shit's attention if they're being particularly assholish. Heavens know my brothers and I have said far worse. Whether it's the best approach is highly debatable, but as a writing choice, it felt really good to me because it made the brotherly relationship feel very real in that moment, especially since that's a word we've already seen them use.

Overall, I agree with pretty much all of the OP's points about Callum's arc here, but I'd like to point out that he's falling prey to the same thinking as what's left the fandom startled by Ezran this season. He describes Ez as "not himself" and is convinced the anger will cool with time, and I just don't know if it would have. I'll get back to what I think Ezran actually needed in a moment, too. Callum has tried to talk Ezran down and make peace between them at every turn, even promising Rayla he wouldn't drive a wedge between them to help her, and I do think that people who call him a doormat for Rayla are missing that bit. He didn't just betray Ezran, he betrayed Rayla's trust as well, even if it was to help her in the immediate moment.

Callum also explicitly makes sure to tell Ezran, even while he's defending the elves' retreat, that he will always be there for him as a brother. All Ezran has to do is ask. He is leaving because he cannot stand by Ezran's actions as a king, which I think is a really important distinction to make, and I think it's a driving force of what helps Ezran forgive him later. It's one of the bits of evidence that will eventually build into Ezran realizing he's working towards a mutually assured destruction plan rather than one of peace, and I just don't think Callum could have gotten that message across with a less drastic reaction. He's also not abandoning Ezran on his own; Ez is a fully realized king with Soren, Corvus, the Council, Zym (who he also identifies as a brother) and more to support him emotionally.

Speaking of, I do actually want to point that out about this whole situation as well, is Soren's role. He mentions that he wishes he hadn't seen the elves escaping, but his loyalty outweighs his sympathy. I think it's also very important to why Callum was willing to leave; because he and Soren have come a long way, and Callum knows he's leaving his younger brother in very capable hands. Soren is also an older brother, and one who takes a very personal joy in being one and helping Ezran have moments of just being a kid. Callum knows that.

Finally, to circle back around to Ezran, I don't think that he buried his feelings about Harrow's death. That said, I do think that his background including his father's death and taking the throne far too young heavily affects his reaction to having his home destroyed. What happened in Katolis was terrorism, a mass murder and destruction that would shake anyone, and it challenges everything Ezran has been fighting for since Harrow's death. From Ezran's thesis of forgiveness and how all violence spirals, the attack on Katolis is senseless, because there was nothing recent to trigger Sol Regem's revenge - which is why his anger gets turned on Runaan, because Runaan also challenges Ezran's beliefs about violence.

Rayla defends Runaan in the early seasons by saying "It's a job" about assassination, and Runaan himself in Bloodmoon Huntress says "I kill people. I don't judge them." That puts him in a very different category than say, Zubeia, who acted out of grief and rage, or Pyrrah, who retaliated against an attack on her, or Harrow, who acted out of personal grief, or even Avizandum, who acted in defense of his people, or even further back, Viren and Harrow and Sarai and Annika and Neha who acted to save theirs. All of them made choices driven by emotion, by some variation of love, whether it be living love or grief and anger. Runaan isn't like that. Runaan just takes without personal bias, which challenges Ezran's whole worldview and puts him in the same category of senseless violence as Sol Regem.

And that's why I think Runaan's tearful apology and confession in the end actually got through to Ezran, and why I don't think anything less than the breakdown with Callum and that confrontation would have done it. Ezran needed to see that Runaan has values and reasons, even if they're not good ones, and that he's willing to lay them aside to prevent further bloodshed. Rayla knew, of course, but she's been making a point to avoid the topic of their fathers since Season 1, and we've seen no evidence she broke that habit, so Ezran doesn't know Runaan the way we do even through her. I think it was less about Ezran needing Runaan to take accountability (we certainly haven't seen that from Zubeia) and more that he needed to know that Runaan wasn't the exact sort of threat he's supposedly meant to combat. Andromeda, one of the other assassins, explains in Bloodmoon Huntress that sometimes they know, without a shadow of a doubt, that a person brings more pain and violence into the world than they do love, and that's when their death becomes more valuable than their life. Ezran made his peace with that very concept during this season because of Aaravos. He imprisoned Runaan at first due to his own values against murder, but he still didn't understand why Runaan could do what he does. I think the final confrontation with Aaravos, coming after him with the Nova Blade, was Ezran's turning point and why he's able to understand Runaan's choices in the end. I don't think a confrontation earlier than that would have worked out - not with Callum as a mediator. (Soren or Amaya, with their backgrounds a soldiers, might have better luck.)

Also, I want to briefly touch on Runaan's behavior during all this too, because he surrendered himself to this consequence. He took one look at Soren, most likely recognized him, and knew it wasn't a fight he could win, so he didn't bother trying. He also is notably nervous about their escape, but goes along with it because like Rayla, he isn't human, and his cultural values drive him home more strongly than his personal choice to take the punishment he's being given, because he's only just begun the mental deconstruction that continues to drive him throughout the season. His cultural values got challenged by his love for Rayla in Season 1, and seeing the consequences of those actions in Katolis started his whole worldview to crumbling. But that's only just happened at this point, so when given the chance by Rayla, he goes for it, clutching at his dedication to his home and family as a shred of stability in the worldview he's just had broken apart. But he never once defends himself, physically or verbally, against Ezran's accusations or the soldiers, which is pretty telling.

So all in all, I agree that it was a complicated situation, and none of them were wholly right or wholly wrong morally. I do think it was actually pretty well in-character for all of them individually.

Season 7 Conflict between Ezran, Callum, and Rayla: Who’s Right and who’s wrong?

Or perhaps...

I feel like this has been a topic of heavy debate across the fandom and I guess I wanted to share my own perspective on this as well. I wanted to try to dive in and explore each of these characters’ stances on things, since in my opinion, each of them had valid points. Long post ahead!

Starting with Ezran, we’re all mostly used to him being an innocent, kind and sweet cinnamon roll that’s so quick to forgive others who have wronged him. And it’s not just us, but even the characters in the show too, which in some cases can be used against him (which I won’t get to here since this isn’t the point of this post). But I’m mentioning this here because this is major trait of his that we saw being challenged this season.

Well, I would argue maybe even since season 6:

Which not gonna lie, that was both surprising but also very satisfying, especially after all Viren has done in arc 1, especially in season 3, you could argue it was well deserved, and even Viren himself saw that. But getting back on topic, I feel like we start to see a more vengeful side of Ezran this season, especially after the trauma of having his whole kingdom that he’s ruling, his own home, be completely destroyed.

This itself was traumatic enough to change Ezran completely, especially after finding out that it was Sol Regem that destroyed it in a matter of minutes. And not only that, but also seeing Runaan, the very assassin who ‘killed’ his father that same day, lead him to push all the blame onto him. That everything changed since the night Harrow was ‘killed’ by him and Ezran was eventually forced to pick up the burden of being king and live through all of this.

Now I get that there’s alot of people in the fandom pointing out the hypocrisy of “how come he forgave Zubeia, who was the one that sent Runaan to kill Harrow, but he couldn’t forgive Runaan?” Which I would argue narratively, that is the point and it was something called out by Callum. I do personally think that perhaps, if Ezran may have crossed paths with Runaan at some point before the destruction of Katolis, he could have had a different response? Not necessarily saying it would be positive but perhaps, not as vengeful or angry?

I also wanted to point to something interesting in the short story Deep Below, which is set right before season 5 in the storm spire when he went to get the siren stone:

The screenshots above are on Ezran’s reaction to seeing the shadowhawk with the red blood ribbon that confirmed Harrow’s ‘death’ and the emotions he felt. But not only that, it also felt like he chose not to let himself properly deal with that anger and instead bottled it up for the sake of keeping the peace that he fought so hard to keep. But of course all of that came tumbling down after the destruction of Katolis leading up to the immense change in Ezran’s behavior. We see him letting out all of bottled up anger once he saw the assassin who was involved in the direct killing of his father that lead to the complete change of his life.

Now moving onto Rayla, I think it’s important to remember that for over two years, she had no idea what happened to her birth parents or Runaan but only that Viren had something to do with their disappearances. Then by the end of season 4, she received the coins that contained their spirits and since then, it’s become one of her primary goals to free them, even if she had to set that goal aside for the sake of saving the world. Then getting to the end of season 6, she was forced to let go of her birth parents after she finally reunited with them after many years, just so that she would let them be together in the afterlife, while choosing to bring back Runaan so that she can finally reunite him with Ethari.

Now I know that ideally, she shouldn’t have brought Runaan with her to Katolis, but because she made a promise to Callum that she wouldn’t leave without him again and Runaan was still recovering and more desperate than ever to reunite with Ethari, she couldn’t leave him on his own. I also think it wasn’t the best idea to let Runaan walk around freely in Katolis but I’m guessing none of the characters were expecting Ezran react in anger since they were mostly used to him being so forgiving.

Now we get to the next episode where Rayla, who was finally able to bring back one of her parents, has had that parent taken away from her once again. We see Callum trying hard to convince her to be patient and give Ezran some time to process everything that’s happened and that he would eventually forgive Runaan. But then we get to the council meeting where things get especially heated.

While I do think that Rayla didn’t bring it up or address this in the best way, I do think she made some really valid points:

And I know many people in the fandom have been arguing that Rayla was 'unsympathetic' towards Ezran but honestly, I think an argument can also be made that no one was sympathetic towards Rayla wanting to bring her family back together except for Callum, and I will talk more about him in detail later.

I also think another important detail we need to remember is that when it comes to this conflict, there’s a major power imbalance here. While yes, Ezran is a traumatized 12 year old kid dealing with the destruction of his kingdom and seeing the face of his father’s killer, he’s also the king who has the final say in everything. It’s his words and his orders against anyone else’s objections that get followed. He also has the backing and loyalty of the council, crownguard and all of the Katolis guards too, while Rayla only had the support of Callum in this situation.

And because of how things went at the meeting and seeing how Ezran wouldn’t listen to her and forgive Runaan right away, she decided to break Runaan out, despite Callum trying to convince her to be patient and give Ezran more time, to which then she responds:

Which then Callum fully accepts her decision and even offered to help (which again, I’ll talk more about later). But while the ideal thing for Rayla to do was to be more patient give Ezran time to do the right thing, which he eventually did at the end of the season, it’s also understandable why she couldn’t stay patient. Because after years, she finally has the opportunity to reunite what remains of her own family again.

Now I get to my last point, Callum. Despite seeing a lot of hate being directed towards Rayla and Ezran for their different stances, from what I’ve seen, I feel like Callum has been getting savaged a whole lot by different parts of the fandom, despite being caught in between both sides and torn between two people he loves. I feel like more people are willing to look at the complexity of the situation when it comes to Ezran or Rayla, but when it comes to Callum, his stance is more often reduced to: “he’s a terrible brother who betrayed Ezran because he doesn’t sympathize with him” or “he’s a doormat for Rayla who unconditionally worships her even at the expense of others or the greater good” while leaving out so many details, events and aspects of his overall character. Now I’m not saying that Callum handled things perfectly with Ezran and nor am I saying that he wouldn’t do reckless and crazy things for Rayla, but I feel like there’s so much more to him that just gets heavily ignored.

So as I’ve said before, Callum was caught in between rising tensions between Ezran and Rayla. While he did support Rayla and wanted to help her reunite her family, I just think it’s wrong to say he was “unsympathetic” towards Ezran because:

And that to me isn’t what unsympathetic looks like. Not to mention he kept trying to convince Rayla to be patient and give Ezran time, and even when Rayla went to break out Runaan, Callum still went and made an attempt to talk to Ezran. And like I don’t think it was right of him to call his traumatized brother a jerk face when he went to talk to him lol, but we know how Callum can be when he gets frustrated, and he even apologized immediately and changed his tone afterwards. We then see Ezran open up to Callum about how his life completely changed after Harrow was ‘killed’ and he was forced to take up a heavy burden at a young age. While ideally I do think that Callum could’ve verbally expressed more understanding towards what Ezran was feeling and dealing with, I do think he made a valid point when he brought up that Ezran forgave Zubeia despite her being the one who sent Runaan after Harrow. Now getting to my next point, this scene in particular:

What he said here made me think back a lot to arc 1, particularly, some of the stuff Harrow said in his last conversation with Callum:

And some things he told Rayla when she told him about her mission to avenge Avizandum and the dragon egg that was initially believed to be destroyed:

I also thought of some of the things Harrow told Callum in his letter:

And lastly something he said to Rayla in season 3 in their conversation after looking at Avizandum's stoned body:

I think it’s important to remember that yes, even Callum himself is aware of the violent cycle between the humans and Xadia and actually wants to end it. And while yes, Ezran grieving Harrow’s death and feeling so much anger towards Runaan was completely valid, I truly believe that Callum was also motivated in trying to convince Ezran to not take part in this cycle of vengeance. The very cycle that killed their mother, that lead Harrow to kill Avizandum in vengeance, which he himself even regretted and recognized was a mistake that lead to Zubeia sending the moonshadow assassins to kill him. And this was something that he brought up to Callum in both his last conversation and his letter, hoping that Callum and Ezran would break this cycle and not repeat his mistakes. And this was what Callum was attempting to do with Ezran, having even reminded him that this was the cycle of violence he was fighting so hard to end. And it did seem that Callum was getting through to him, and I do think that if their conversation didn’t get interrupted by Soren calling out and maybe in a short amount of time, Callum would’ve succeeded.

Of course next thing we see after Rayla and Soren’s duel along with Corvus’s intervention, was Ezran approaching them with a bunch of guards and he had no hesitation in ordering them to attack an outnumbered Rayla and Runaan. It was only in this situation, when literal violence was about to escalate, that we see Callum fully take Rayla’s side and go against Ezran. Not having succeeded in getting through to his brother and seeing that he was still set on getting his revenge, was when Callum decided to step down as high mage and leave with Rayla and Runaan.

Now I’ve seen a lot of people criticizing Callum for leaving his traumatized brother in this situation, which like, yes it was a betrayal at a bad time and it hurt Ezran a great deal. But I also think it’s important to keep in mind that if Callum were to have stayed behind, he would’ve been arrested and have not been able to do anything or even help Ezran in any way, especially with Ezran later becoming hellbent on building weapons of mass destruction, even with Zym becoming increasingly uncomfortable, and hardly listening to anyone aside from Aanya. In fact, I think this would’ve lead to a far bigger strain on their relationship and less of a likelihood to reconcile and repair the rift created between them.

But anyways, this is my opinion on this whole topic. I personally think there wasn’t one person in this that was entirely right or wrong in this situation, each of them had valid stances that just all came clashing together and lead to this massive fallout. But I’m glad that in the end, they were all able to work it out and be able to reconcile things between them. And I know I made this super long but I guess I just wanted to dump out all my thought here.

Anyways, what do you think? Anything you wanted to add on to this?

[madlad-link]

in the wise words of @kingwuko, the butch/twink bestieism

[captain-sunshine-11]

Jean Moreau being the wet cat of the Trojans >

Once he becomes demystified to the rest of the team and isn't the strange enigma/asshole he appears the Trojans go "Oh! Hes just a disgruntled cat AND an asshole."

Also Jeremy being the stereotypical golden retriever (i need his lore tsc2 pleas---) so its just those pictures of dark cats chilling with soft golden retrievers.

[emodwarfluvr]

Sharing beds like little kids

And laughing ‘til our ribs get tough

[blainehasregrets]

I agree so much, you explained perfectly the dynamic between them that Blaine was aware of, and why it’s significant that Blaine would wait until Kurt had lost the hero worship of him to confirm his feelings. We even see it in NBK, when Blaine decides to buy Kurt lunch after Kurt talks about Karofsky being his first kiss with a guy, offering him friendship which is what Kurt needed the most. Instead of what Will does that same episode, where he kisses Beiste. I mean…the Will thing was meant to be a positive thing in canon lol but I think it says a lot that Blaine didn’t go that route.

And I hope you don’t mind me adding to the “they truly see each other” comment! But to interpret the Blaine and the pips line, or even “I know that today we need to practice doo whopping behind Blaine as he sings every solo in the medley of Pink songs”, as if they were meant to hurt or offend Blaine is just a fundamental misunderstanding of Blaine’s character. Those lines aren’t there for us to feel sorry for Blaine, they’re there to tell us why he loves Kurt.

Because Kurt is someone who’s really opinionated and isn’t afraid to tell someone how he feels, even if it can come across as blunt or rude. Blaine’s expressions after Kurt makes these comments aren’t meant to convey that he’s offended or put off by them, he’s actually a little impressed and starting to realize “oh, Kurt’s not afraid to tell me what he thinks.” And he likes that Kurt can be mean to him, and that he can be brutally honest. There’s even a bell toll after the Blaine and the pips comment that represents Blaine seeing Kurt in a new light. These lines are put in this episode where he confesses to Kurt, and not any other episode, for a reason! These comments and Blackbird (which represented Kurt’s needs for freedom and independence, which in Special Education Blaine tried to give Kurt advice to help him fit in, but he actually genuinely loves that Kurt is unique and doesn’t fit in, one of his last lines in the show is telling Kurt “you’re the only one.”) both work to show that Blaine loves the real Kurt, not just any person who’s willing to give him endless praise or assimilate easily into Dalton.

And being seen in a two way street because while Blaine starts seeing Kurt in a new light, but he also feels like Kurt is seeing him for who he is. It’s important that this episode comes after SLS and BIOTA, because that’s when Blaine’s image start to crack a little. In SLS he admits he’s only just pretending to know what he’s doing, and BIOTA is meant to show that Blaine is more than just the image Kurt had of him in his mind. And when Kurt treats Blaine like a person instead of perfect Warbler Blaine that he needs to impress, Blaine feels like Kurt’s seeing through the perfect image of him for who he really is.

And yeah, Blaine loves attention lol, but we see with the Warblers, who he leaves because he wants to go to school with Kurt, Sebastian, who he never dates, or even Tina! that mindless worship isn’t something he necessarily wants. He felt stuck at Dalton for a while, in his very first appearance in NBK he tells Kurt he felt like he ran away to Dalton, and in SLS he calls the Warblers out for being privileged porcelain birds. Kurt mentioning that he thinks Blaine gets too many solos is something Blaine likes because it challenges him, and he admires that Kurt is someone who feels restless at Dalton because he’s felt the same way.

I think if you choose to read and interpret the “Blaine and the pips” comment as Kurt just being baselessy rude and Blaine graciously not getting offended at him you essentially get rid of a far more positive and interesting read of not just Blaine himself but the core of their relationship.

Before OS, Kurt and Blaine are mentor and mentoree, idol and fan - there’s a very clear power dynamic present that Blaine is aware of and careful not to exploit. He gets to know Kurt at the lowest point of his life, where even a gesture as small and friendly as inviting him to have coffee has Kurt tearing up. Blaine choosing not to pursue Kurt is almost chivalrous in this context, because Kurt is emotionally mallaeable at this time and desperate for a friend who truly understands him, especially knowing the events of Grilled Cheesus (where his friends actively chose faith over his own wishes, even if what Mercedes wanted to give him was community rather than faith) and Duets (where he is treated as something so unsightly and uncomfortable to be around even just singing with him for two minutes would be enough reason for social ridicule - there is significance to him having to sing a duet by himself). It is also possible, from Blaine’s point of view, that Kurt is only crushing on him because he is the first other gay person his age he’s met. Choosing to pursue someone under these conditions WOULD be almost exploitative.

Part of why I believe this to be the case is him seeking out Burt in Sexy - he thinks Kurt is someone easily influencable because at this time, he can only base off how Kurt acts around a potential love interest by his own experiences with him. There is no other attainable cute gay boy to crush on so he could gauge how much is Kurt’s personality when trying to impress someone, how much of it is just Blaine being the first person who can be flirted with without terrible consequences or him actually being Kurt’s type.

Blaine needed Kurt to stop idolizing him so that he could break his self-imposed gentleman code of conduct and actually confess - this is why Kurt treating Blaine as he would any of his other friends (remember, they have been pretty inseparable for quite some time now, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that even Blaine could pick up on Kurt’s obvious favoritism) has significance and why it is only after this comment (and Blackbird) he finally wills himself to confess, because they’re finally equals and for the first time they truly see each other for each other.

[lady-of-the-tambre]

Rewatching Ted Lasso part 21: Love love love the protest scene.

Love Sam standing up for what he believes in.

Love the way all the Nigerian players follow immediately, Isaac first of all.

Love how Jamie’s the first non-Nigerian player to join.

Love how they all end up doing it.

[girlatrocity]

wouldn't it be funny if he just. Didn't know

[wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart]

Robin does not have time for fun.

Being a lesbian in a small town in the middle of nowhere is not fun. But being a lesbian in a big city? A little bit more fun. So she has to leave. Which means she has to work.

She has to study for every subject like crazy because writing good grades doesn't come as naturally to her as it seems to do for others. And she needs a high GPA to get into a university that is ideally located outside of Indiana entirely. She needs to go to as many extracurriculars as possible to build an impressive resume. She needs to work to get enough money to move out.

Steve does not have time for fun, either.

Or well, he does. Which is almost worse. Because he knows he should use that time to make something out of himself. Get more shifts at his new job, even if it is actual purgatory without Robin to entertain him. Try writing to more businesses and universities, even knowing how hopeless it is. Make plans on how to best protect his kids the next time the Upside Down comes knocking. Use the time to mold himself into someone the people around him can actually be proud of. But he just can't bring himself to get up from the couch.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't work. They both have been taught that an unproductive day is a day wasted, and they both are always running out of time. They have both taught themselves to feel a deep aching guilt whenever they spend time on something that does not aid them in their future. The present is useless if they have nowhere to go.

And yet.

And yet Steve finally convinces Robin to watch a match with him and she isn't learning or exercising or being productive in any way. But she doesn't feel bad. Because she is here with Steve, her best friend, her soulmate, so how could she? (And if she can allow herself to make some time for present her when she is with him, shouldn't she be able to do that on her own, too?)

And yet Robin insists that Steve play the Trumpet to prove that even a total dingus like him could do better than that new band member that keeps messing up. And she immediately regrets it because it sounds fucking horrible, she didn't even know her beloved instrument could produce such sounds and she's been playing it for her whole life. And Steve has no interest in making Musik, would never write "plays the trumpet" in his CV and probably makes a very bad name for himself in all shops and firms in a two miles radius. But he doesn't feel guilty. And he doesn't feel bad. How could he, when he is spending time with Robin? (And if Robin still insists on spending time with him even though he just keeps fucking up and giving in and wasting his precious precious time....well. Maybe taking time for himself isn't a waste of time after all.)

steve and robin casually taking on each other's interests like its nothing. Robin watching sports games and occasionally giving her best go at basketball (and having an absolute blast swimming laps) with steve. steve listening to robin play and trying new weird music with her and even fucking around with her trumpet when she'll allow it. they're not the best at their new interests but they just do it together anyway and have fun just engaging with their hobbies together

just stobin hanging out and joining in on the things the other loves. not really into it personally but its that hobby with the other that makes it fun

[plutonicbees]

season 1 tao's "once you get into a relationship, friendships don't matter anymore" vs season 2 charlie writing "charlie ♡ tao" on the heart locket + "wait, isn't that for you and nick?" "no."

sorry yeah I'm just lil emotional over the portrayal of platonic love as something that can be just as worthy as romantic love. i'm okay.