#they were literally made for each other

[sweatytoast]

and lucky for you, and lucky for me, and maybe unlucky for us

you have met your match, me

(i want your blood on my hands)

[ari-the-arotistic]

I haven't seen anyone else talk about this, but that ending??? Not Miss Minutes and Ravonna, who cares about them(but the secret is that Timely/He who remains and Ravonna had been partners and He who remains wiped her memories, it was literally in episode one people), but Loki and Mobius right before they leave??? Like Sylvie let Timely live(yay, character growth, good for her), and as Loki and Mobius are about to walk through the time portal, Sylvie tells them not to make her regret it, and they stop, listen as she says she'll handle Ravonna, and then with ZERO hesitation, Loki is through that time door. He doesn't stay, doesn't try to talk to Sylvie, doesn't try to convince her to come with them, nothing. Because at the end of the last episode, when Sylvie left even though Loki was asking her to stay, she made her choice, and it wasn't him. And then Loki made his choice. And that choice was Mobius. And now, at the end of this episode, he is reinforcing that choice - he doesn't even think twice before going back to the TVA, since that's where Mobius is. And Mobius makes the same choice - we can tell he's clearly concerned about Ravonna, and that he doesn't want to leave her alone with Sylvie, but he still goes with Loki - Rovanna had betrayed him, and when he had given her the choice to come back to the TVA, to come back to him, she refused it, and chose to help Timely. And so Mobius made his choice, and that was Loki. They've both chosen each other. And even if Disney won't make it canon because they're cowards, Loki and Mobius still chose each other over everything else they cared about, and that IS canon, romantic or not

[spineless-lobster]

There’s literally no happier feeling than seeing achilles and patroclus in the glade together love wins

[spaghetsquid]

I’m so normal about them I swear (lying)

[avennerezza]

love how hermie and normal both went “FINE Dad, you won’t love me? I’M GONNA BE THE BEST DAMN SCHOOL MASCOT SO EVERYONE WILL LOVE ME”

[chloedanvers13]

Seconded…. 🥹🥹🥹

#kara means so much to her #so so so much to her at this point #and you can see the moment cat realizes that very thing #it’s a hug #it’s just a hug #and cat doesn’t think about it at first #because cat grant is affectionate #she’s physically affectionate with those she cares about and so this isn’t a big deal #until it is #until she realizes she’s hugging kara #she’s hugging her sunny assistant and her superhero and her inspiration #she’s hugging /kara/ #there are so few people in the world that touch her so easily #that offer hugs and physical comfort and connection like this #and i think in this moment she realizes just how deeply she cares for kara #how /nice/ it is that kara cares about her right back #and so that first gif is surprise #but the second gif is desperation #you can see how her fingers curl into kara #how her nails dig into the material of the cape and she pulls kara closer #and i didn’t catch this at first #but kara starts it #kara’s arm moves first #she pulls cat closer #because kara is grateful and scared and she expresses herself though touch so much #and cat gets it and responds in kind #she lets this superstrong alien (who just weeks ago had thrown her from this very height) #lets kara pull her close #and so she holds on as tight as she can too #and in that third gif i think there’s a little bit of fear #not of kara #but of how deeply she cares /about/ kara #of the power kara holds over her #of the first connection she’s let herself make outside of her sons #’because of you i started letting people in’ #and in the fourth and fifth gifs you can see her accept it #decide to continue to let this girl - who’s done nothing but push her and surprise her and change her - in #cat grant isn’t going to let fear stop her #and so the bravest thing she can do #is continue to let kara get closer and closer

[blackkatdraws2]

[Toon x Mobster] A tender moment.

[Animation timelapse here!]

[AUDIO USED:] Chet Baker - Almost Blue Sound Effects edited by me!

[ronanlynchbf]

tshirt that says NO LIVE ORGANISM CAN CONTINUE FOR LONG TO EXIST SANELY UNDER CONDITIONS OF ABSOLUTE REALITY

[egophiliac]

Hello ! I positively adore the running joke of Idia unknowingly finding Lilia to be the coolest guy ever whenever he doesn't know it's him, like when Silver described his father, or obviously with muscle red. I can't say what'd be funnier, Idia finding out his online best friend is actually Lilia, resident spooky hyper fairy; or them both never finding out, and it'd become even more ridiculous as time goes on. How do you think it'll play out ? You're always so on point

(Also, though it makes sense, I'm still devastated bat boy didn't get a ticket for the Halloween skeleton train : ( does anyone mentions him at some point ? Like how he'd have fit right in with all those Halloween town little freaks, and how he'd have impressed them with his spooks and scared techniques; after all he's been every Briar Valley's children worst fear on Halloween for centuries. I'm on the eng server and I didn't wanna spoil myself by watching the whole thing on youtube)

Have a nice day !

you and me both, Idia and Lilia being oblivious online BFFs (+ Idia being incredibly intimidated any time Silver brings up his jock gamer dad) is my favorite running joke/subplot. 🤝 it's SO good, to the point where I also am unsure if I actually want it to ever be resolved or not...maybe, like, as a post-canon stinger or something? everyone's standing around covered in overblot ink, and Idia and Lilia's phones go off at the same time...

(legit I do think this is part of why Idia couldn't be present for Lilia's dream, because for some reason Lilia decided he was going to just. embody his past self online. he probably quotes his own battle strategies or whatever in the middle of boss fights. Idia didn't pick up on the whole "oh how weird that we both live on a super remote island" thing, but he would spend thirty seconds listening to General Lilia describing siege warfare and be like "w-wait")

all that aside, however it does end up happening, I do see Lilia being very blasé and all "oh! cool!" about it. y'know, taking it very much in stride! and Idia...very much not.

(can't tell if tumblr is going to chew this into illegibility or not, this will be a fun surprise ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ)

as for Lilia sadly missing out on Halloweentown shenanigans...he does get one little mention as part of an offhand reference to the light music club, but so far no one has brought up how this basically is just Lost In the Book of Liliatown (Sebek's been too busy yelling about not getting to be in the same group as Malleus). 😔 honestly though, it's probably for the best that he got left out, because he would just settle right in and refuse to ever leave. canon would shatter. we would miss out on all the delightful angst of episode 7 because Lilia is too busy eating poisonous shrubbery inbetween practicing his very best screams, and no one can pull him away from it.

(I can hope for a sequel next year though...)

[phoenixcatch7]

Okay but it's super interesting how

Din = Power = Ganondorf

Naryu = Wisdom = Zelda

Farore = Courage = Link.

Because Din, in the hylian creation myth, created the physical world. Naryu then created the laws - gravity, time, etc. And Farore finally created life - plants and people.

Din created the body, naryu the mind, Farore the soul.

And the triforce and its wielders so perfectly reflect that.

Ganon is physical power, he is big and intimidating and he breaks things. He is cunning and determined, but that's not what he focuses on. He is might makes right.

Zelda is wisdom and cleverness. She is stall tactics and information and team work. She is a powerful mage with a spine of steel, but that's not how she'll win. She is the pen being mightier than the sword.

Link is courage and persistence. He is the wild card sneaking behind enemy ranks, always moving, plunging into terrifying situations head first. He's a phenomenal fighter with a keen wit, but that's not what will get him through his challenges. He is bravery not being the absence of fear but the triumph over it.

They sit in perfect parallels to each other.

And ganon is reborn through his body - his resurrection is immortality. No matter how low he is cast, as long as he has a body he can claw his way back. He can cling to his power, build it ever higher.

Zelda is reborn through the magic of her bloodline. It's the accumulated knowledge handed down for generations, the unique power she must master, the skills she must develop to survive and get her kingdom out the other side intact. Even her name, the knowledge of herself, is handed down from all the way from the very first. Her ancestors knowledge of her future presence, her stability, is what gives her the edge.

Link is reborn in spirit. He is not bound by flesh or blood. Just like his wanderlust soul he can reappear in any time or place. His variation, his unpredictability, is exactly how he fights. It's what makes him so hard to pin down.

Ganons need to build strength means he can't chase after link. Links impulsiveness means zelda can outwit him. Zeldas stationary predictability means she's an easy target for ganon.

But the other direction?

Fire melts ice, ice redirects lightning, lightning burns fire.

And that's the very essence of the triforce.

[lotus-pear]

whatever happens, please don’t break

[spaghetsquid]

Thank you Hoenn for inventing gay people. Now these two old men can rot in my homieshrexual brain. ❤️

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

[velunet]

if heavy x medic isn’t canon explain why their initials are H and M regardless of their class or real names?.??????

[weirdronpa]

idk if this makes sense, I haven't slept in a while

I literally blanked and made this shit

[batfam-stuff-posts-0]

(Curious because I have 4 (this is my main one but I had a tumblr once before and realized putting all my obsessions in one blog doesn't really work for me))

[phannie-by-night]

Totally forgot about Dan saying "ladies and gentlemen, your future husband" about Phil in pinof 4 like girl that's YOUR future husband