#this is still like the forever truth

[bitchthefuck1]

Tom's line about Shiv being selfish and "find[ing] it very hard to think about me" is actually so telling because while it's absolutely true that she rarely takes his position into consideration, Tom never once thinks about what he can do to help Shiv unless it also benefits him.

Every single time he makes a move or sacrifice that might help her, it's always something that he thinks will give him a leg up. He volunteers to take the fall for cruises, not for Shiv, who is in no way implicated, or even for Waystar, but because he thinks it'll ingratiate him to Logan, and the second it seems like he might have to actually follow through on that, he immediately tries to get out of it and even throws Shiv under the bus. Meanwhile, for all that Shiv disregards his interests, there are a number of things she does that only help him, and she's the one who actually sacrifices something and undermines her position with Logan to beg him not to let Tom go to jail.

It just makes it so clear that no matter how much he might love her (and I think he does, in his own compromised way), for him their relationship was always built on the underlying assumption that it's her job to prop him up, but it's not his job to help her.

[dxxtruction]

Louis' "You're boring!" Could mean so many things, but I think what's most apparent about that line is that Armand takes no initiative just for himself. He's not really anybody, because he never goes out and finds himself or gets attached to anyone but Louis. Without Louis as his guide he's literally just sitting on a couch picking lint! That's the thing.

He orbits constantly around what would make Louis happy, and never really fully going what would make me happy? Ultimately that drive to please Louis is what drives him to torturing Daniel, not so much that he'd care to just do it. Ultimately, not giving proper care to Louis is just a way to make sure Louis knows he has to orbit around him as well, with shoving Lestat onto him just that other nail on the coffin. So, even if he fails to figure out how to make Louis happy with him, he still knows what Armand is good for, and better than.

That dependency is what drives Armand's abuse. It really just comes down to that. Armand doesn't even realize how suffocated he is by his own dependency. This is just how life is to him. (It shouldn't be lost either that dependency is a theme considering this episode also deals with addiction).

Daniel's fascinating because he's just so driven to be somebody. He's largely independent, he seeks things because he wants them. It's his drug to poke and prod at all the things that he shouldn't. Daniel's exciting because he lets Louis in to something different, lets him in to all this potential in another person that he can also do the same with for himself. It's a real connection. A two way street. It's easy to tell how Armand can be smothering then because he's never introducing him to anything really new, and most the ways both of them connect are all painful and traumatic. It's never just fun because there's always that layer of that pain. Fun died with Claudia.

50 years on they've gotten to a lot better place, both of them, but it's still that same shit. No seriously, "How is this any different from last time, Louis?"

Well... Because Armand's going to be, at the very least, making one [1] decision only for himself - and that's to hold power over Daniel's life. Fucking sick foreshadowing.

They aren't driving each other to the brink anymore but "The vampire is bored" STILL. Maybe it's even worse, despite being in better places, because Louis' sort of just been defeated by it. (I mean, can he even really leave this either?). He's accepting the dependancy cause he kind of has to. He'd literally ended up letting all the enjoyment be up where he can't reach [The book shelves]. Armand so desperately wants Louis happiness but what really ends up happening is that Louis ends up having to give Armand all his own. He's got no one or anything else to get it from. But like an iPad and an over the top eating ritual. Two extremes of what's just more lint picking.

This whole relationship is one I find just tragic inside and out. You have to just pity it, really. There's ways in which you can find yourself feeling bad for both of them. But you can only really be mad at Armand for any of it. Armand, who isn't even 'free' in any sense, having so little concept of his own independence, but is at the same time so controlling over other's. It's a tragic cycle. It's an infuriating one.

Louis at least has the mind to know when enough is enough. If just needing that extra push to get there. Armand's too scared of it being over to even try.

[loveandthings11]

New Jeremy interview!!!

Oh I cannot wait for this play 😍

Jeremy Strong for Vogue, 2/15/24

Bonus:

[fu-cough]

I actually love that Marinette's keeping all these secrets. Like go girl give these unnecessary burdens to yourself, be a morally gray character, be the antagonist to your own story. No one's stopping you, no one's forcing you either (except maybe Gabriel haunting the narrative), this is all on you! You, a 15 year old girl, will just have to deal with the consequences later. Alone. You put this on yourself, no one else did. But anything for Adrien, right?

By the way, even if you did tell the truth, you would have to handle the consequences that shouldn't be punished upon you anyways. The real culprits are dead. Whether you like it or not, you are the punching bag of the narrative.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Between Sonic and Tails, who do you think would end up confessing their feelings first?

Good question. Definitely depends upon the iteration and context, but for the most part (at least in my head) getting either of them to confess (and in some cases even ruminate on their feelings and admit to themselves the nature of them) is hard

Like, for example, I personally think that game!Sonic (and post sgw Archie Sonic and IDW Sonic) kind of take Tails' presence for granted in a way. To them, it will always be the two of them (Sonic and Tails). The ideal future is that they keep on hanging out and still fight side by side sometimes and that even if Sonic goes it alone he can always come back from his adventures to chill with Tails or crash at his place. In other words, in Sonic's fantasies of the future, things like getting married or raising families or anything like that are just kind of tacked on as something that will just kind of be true at best and ignored at worst. If he even considers a future where things are a bit different because Tails is together™ with someone, to him it's only natural that Tails would be in his life the same way and nothing would really change. And so to that end, even if Sonic DOES realize his own feelings, he probably wouldn't see any good reason to confess. It would make things more complicated, especially if Tails doesn't share those feelings, and he doesn't have to worry anyways because Tails will always prioritize the two of them and be at his side, right?

And then it's even worse for versions of Sonic more akin to, say, pre sgw Archie Sonic. This is because in addition to the already existing unwillingness to change things and the assumption that he doesn't ever have to worry about no longer being the center of Tails' world (or a major figure in it at least), there is some palpable internalized homophobia within that hedgehog with an added complexity. For Archie Sonic in particular, I think even if he realized that he wanted to even be with Tails forever in a strictly non brothers fashion, he would feel mixed feelings about that (perhaps that coming out about it would ruin things or make things weird, or that getting together with Tails at any point would deprive him of "normalcy", or that he'd pressured Tails into it, or even just weird or a bit creepy).

As for Tails, I actually think that most iterations of him have figured their feelings out by this point. In all honesty, there's only so long you can go on fixating on someone and admiring them, and structuring your life around them before you realize your "I want to be with them" isn't just about simply admiring them. It's just that Tails' main obstacle to me is the avoidance of ruining anything.

On one hand, there's Sonic's avoidance to being tied down. We've seen time and time again Sonic rejecting people who pursue him openly or looking uncomfortable with them. Archie Sonic in particular made it clear that this version of Sonic couldn't stand the idea of not being able to freely be himself or adventure. He couldn't stand the idea of having to tie himself down and taking on extra responsibilities and expectations simply because he's with someone. I can see Tails being afraid that by confessing, he could scare Sonic away. If he happened to confess and Sonic thought Tails meant to stifle him or Sonic felt uncomfortable by that open expression, wouldn't that risk their relationship? Even if Sonic wouldn't go so far as to drop him as a best friend (which he never would do that for the record), there's still real fear in making things weird or different between himself and Sonic.

And that feeds right into the other hand. On the other hand, Sonic probably doesn't see him that way, right? Though Sonic is special to him and Sonic also cares for him back, at best Sonic has never thought about it and never will, or he just wouldn't feel the same (in Tails' eyes). With Archie Tails in particular, even if Tails gets over his own interlized homophobia about it and recognizes his feelings for what they are, he probably feels that there's no way to be anything different than a brother to Sonic, and thus confessing would be a terrible move. If Tails confesses and Sonic doesn't feel the same, it also runs the risk of making things weird between them or (in Tails' eyes) ruining it.

All this to say that my general opinion is that as long as things stay exactly the way they are forever, even if they start spending even more time together, I find it hard to believe either of the two will opt into confessing on purpose

But, with that being said, a confession is not an impossibility. I don't think either of the two are immune to being put in a position where they finally confess (and no, with the state of things for them, simply saying "I love you" will not count as a confession). And if we barred situations where like. They're literally about to die or one can do anything they like without the other (or themselves) remembering the outcome, I actually can give you an answer

And honestly, if one of them had to confess eventually, I believe it would probably end up being Sonic.

Why? Well, out of the two, Tails actually sits back and thinks about his emotions more often than not. I think even before he figured out the exact nature of his feelings he knew he felt very strongly for Sonic. But, no matter which media you're touching upon, I feel as if Tails fits into that archetype of "person who has been in love with their best friend since literally forever, but knows their best friend will never feel the same". The longer Tails ruminates on these feelings, the stronger he feels them, the more he watches Sonic (especially as someone who cares about plenty of people other than him), the more time he spends with Sonic, the less incentivized he feels to actually confess. Especially if Sonic would never feel the same, the best Tails can hope for is that things stay the same between them and Sonic never replaces his role.

Or in short, Tails is so in his head about it at this point, it's very hard to convince him that confessing is ever a good idea or necessary.

But while Tails is more obviously attached to Sonic, Sonic is much less obviously attached to Tails and other people as a whole. With him being "free as the wind" and the kind of figure he is, he kind of benefits from having the persona of a guy who doesn't need his friends but (nevertheless) can be assisted by them. He probably seems cool for being so strong and independent while equally caring that people live. But this doesn't mean Sonic doesn't have attachments (far from it). Rather, for Sonic, his attachments to others seem to naturally grow. And the more time he spends with them, the more he grows used to their presence. And especially with someone like Tails, who has been around as his companion the longest, he doesn't sit around long enough to consider that Tails would ever leave his side. Once he grows used to that person, he doesn't have to recognize his attachment or even think about the nature of his own feelings because it is and always has been whatever it is. So, in other words, even if he becomes more and more reliant on the fact that Tails will always be around or that Tails will always assist him, he doesn't have to admit more than "This is what our best friendship is. This is what it's like"

All of this is to say that while my idea of present Tails would be trying to do anything in his power to stay with Sonic (as long as Sonic is willing of course), even if that means never confessing the exact nature of his feelings for the hedgehog, Sonic isn't already thinking about these things. This means that while Tails has very few pathways to confession, Sonic has plenty!...if you scare him well enough.

For example, Idw Sonic has been more clearly spending more time with Tails (even baseline just. Crashing at his place more often) after the metal virus arc. Couple this with post neo metal incident 2 electric boogaloo idw Sonic who just wants to have a break and live peacefully for a minute, this is a Sonic who has become scared enough to want to indulge in spending more time with Tails. I also think that post Sonic Prime Sonic is also a version of him who would start to spend more time with Tails than before after having already lost him and having to deal with the Tails shaped hole in his life once.

So, if you got a Sonic to the point where he'd fully accepted his feelings and he felt like confessing them would be necessary to secure the future he wants, then he'd confess. Honestly, the easiest way I'd see this going about would be a story where Tails is framed as leaving him to go do something or be somewhere else, away for Sonic, possibly indefinitely, or if Sonic actually has to spend enough time without Tails after initially telling himself his own feelings wouldn't matter so long as Tails is happy wherever he is. But, if it came down to confessing being something that might actually bring Sonic to his desired future (especially if Tails rejecting him is no different from prolonging the separation they already have if he says nothing), then I think he could work up the courage to do it.

And in the end...I think it has to be Sonic. Although I on occasion enjoy fantasizing about moments where Tails can't take it anymore and confesses, only for Sonic to realize his own feelings in the process, I think that Sonic would have to be the one who confesses his feelings/wishes for the future for Tails to even believe that his pipe dreams are a possibility. I think it's Sonic who would need to pull Tails out of his head, because the probability that Tails works up the courage to confess is more unlikely.

So...yeah. In my head, Sonic is driven to a point where he confesses and pulls Tails out of his head about it.

[iraprince]

Hiii, i love your stuff and kinda from a distance really look up at you for, in my perception, being able to express yourself without giving a fuck. Thats sick dude, Im so so afraid, of absolutely everything, its nice to think like i might grow into someone less apologetic of my existence. Nice to see people just being yknow

hey, thank you, this is really really nice. the secret that is probably not a secret is that i am also deeply afraid a lot of the time lmao -- but less than i used to be, and in ways that feel less stifling and self-suffocating, if that makes sense.

like, it used to be "i'm scared that if i express myself the way i want to, everyone will find me obnoxious, so let's just sand those edges down to be safe" -- now my fears are more like "now that i'm expressing myself in a way that feels natural and real, i'm afraid that it's all stupid/vapid/not worthwhile or meaningful" (<- specifically abt my art) or "i'm happy that i talk and act the way i want to now, but what if it makes me impossible to befriend," etc etc etc. which still feels bad and puts me in a funk a lot of the time but at least it's a fear that comes After/in reaction to doing stuff, rather than a fear that STOPS me from doing stuff, you know? like, it's evolved into a kind of fear that's less in my way.

anyway. i believe you'll experience something like this, because wanting to grow is the first step of growing. the fact that u hope or wish for something different means you're already on your way. to fewer fucks!! or at least distributing the fucks u give in a way that serves u better

[imminent-danger-came]

Sandy: "Hurting others isn't a measure of one's strength—took me a really long time to realize that. As long as I'm doing something to help out a friend, I don't mind what it is! I just want to be there for 'em when they need me. Because at the end of the day, helping my friends is more important than anything else in the world!"

(2x08 To Catch a Leaf)

-

Macaque: "She's completely out of control! If there's a time to go, it's now." MK: "NO! Mei is my best friend, I'd never abandon her when she needs me! We're heroes, it's what we do!"

(3x10 The Samadhi Fire)

-

Azure Lion: "I thought I arrived in time to contain the curse, but, based off of your expressions I would hazard a guess that Sun Wukong has already been consumed, along with your friends." MK: "But it's fine right!? We'll just pop this bad boy open and get them back!"

Azure Lion: "It's too late to save them, we can't risk unleashing the curse into the world!" MK: "You don't know, we'd risk it for sure! I won't abandon them when they need us."

(4x02 New Adventures)

-

Yellowtusk: "I know full well what will happen should Azure fail, but- but he is my brother. I owe him my life." Sandy: "We get it! I'd do anything to help my friends, but at the cost of the world?" Pigsy: "I'm sorry pal, but NOTHING is worth that price!"

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

-

Being there for your friends when they need you, but at the cost of the world.

[miss0atae]

Random thoughts about Dead Friend Forever episode 9:

Damn! I was waiting for today to get this new episode and I wasn't disappointed. It was such a ride again.

▪️ First of all, we need to talk about Tan... or should I say New?! Of course, it wasn't exactly a surprise because many people already guessed he was Non's brother, but we just didn't know who he was until now. I guess he looked pretty bland in the first episodes and then when we got to the flashback we didn't see him yet because he wasn't among the group when they bullied Non. Who would have thought, he would lied about his age to get in school, lied to his parents about being in England and basically being the mastermind behind the revenge against the group? I thought Phee would be the mastermind because he wanted to avenge the man he loved, but he was merely a follower. Tan/New is the one who wants revenge and he won't stop until he gets to know the truth. He doesn't mind pretending to be someone else and drugging all of them just to have answers. He is kind of unhinged and it's pretty understandably because he lost everything. I felt so bad for him because he feels guilty about not being a good brother enough to Non, but also not being a good enough son when he decided to lie to his parents to continue his quest in learning the truth. He doesn't know how to cope with the loss and the grieve he feels too (he lost his all family, how can you deal with that?!). It was heartbroken to see him slowly falling into madness because of all those emotions.

▪️ This episode not only centered around Tan/New and his family but also around Phee and his complicated relationship with Jin and Non. We saw that Phee avoided Non after he caught him with cop Keng. It took him a while to cool down before deciding to find Non and discovering his disappearance. That's how he met Tan/New who knew Non and Phee had a thing. They decided to team up to find the truth after reading the script he wrote for the short movie and how different it was from the final production. In this episode, Phee looked more like a follower into Tan/New's quest. He wants to know the truth but he is also torn between this revenge and his growing feelings for Jin. Indeed, he became close to him because he noticed how Jin reacted every time they mentioned Non but it is shown he started to feel something too. Even Tan noticed it and Phee had to brush it off by saying he still loves and misses Non. It must have been hard for him. I don't think caring for Jin meant he didn't care for Non. However, it is sure Tan/New would have not like it. So Phee rejected Jin by saying they were just friends, hurting his feeling. Too bad for Jin, he also learnt at that time about the fake news (because it is fake) about Non and Keng.

▪️ I know Jin did some really bad things to Non. He never really helped him when he was bully by the others and he filmed him (even if he didn't posted online, it was still a bad move). I almost forgot but he also lied about Non, not being with them (stupid move again). The story is not trying to paint him as a saint but at the same time, you can see it is also trying to make us like him. At least, it is working with me. I still feel really bad for Non. Poor Non never deserve anything that happened to him. However, I still want Jin to be able to redeem himself in any way. He had an instant attraction to Phee the first time he saw him (which I understand because Ta Nannakun is very handsome). He felt hard for him. Phee took him to the same lake he went with Non and that's where he told Jin he only bring people he likes over there . Even if at that time they were still "friends" I think it made Jin feel like he had a chance to become boyfriends. It led to their NC scene which was fierce. They were also a little kinky (Jin, I didn't know you weren't only vanilla). Good for them! After that, Phee became distant to Jin and to avoid being hurt they stopped being close until the present time where they went to Por's house.

▪️ In the present time, Phee almost told the truth to Jin. They still have lingering feelings for each other. It seems like it is eating away Phee's mind and Jin still don't understand why they can't be more. I almost choked when he thought Phee had something with Tan. Yeah they are working together to know what your group of a****** friends did to Non, but their relationship is strictly professional, don't worry Jin. That's where Jin started to hallucinate again, still feeling deeply guilty about Non. Phee didn't get to tell him the truth. I can't wait to know how he will react and what impact it is going to have for their relationship. I believe they are supposed to be end-game, but the series surprised me a lot so the dice are not cast, yet.

▪️ Back into the present time where Top drug-induced was beating Tee up until White (long time no see precious baby!) knocked him out. At the same time, Tan is fighting against Fluke who was also drugged. Basically everyone is drugged because it was Tan's plan all along so they would reveal the truth. I laughed when Phee asked Tan/New "This is not deadly, isn't it?" and it answered "This won't kill them". Guess what Por, you're just collateral damage. Opps! Well, he won't be missed. Tan/New probably didn't anticipating his little experience with hallucinating herbs would end up this way. It shows you must really think of everything before taking things into your own hands. The plan is not going into the right direction. It worked too well. They were really scared and thought they were cursed. So, is the killer real or is it just hallucination? If it's the case... does it mean the driver is not really dead? If he is dead, does it mean Tan/New created this trap and killed him? I'm not sure Tan/New thought about really killing anyone... Otherwise how could he get his answer?

The noose is tightening as we approach the end of the series. The next episode won't come out fast enough. I already can't wait to know the rest of the story.

[paimonial-rage]

My favorite works in no particular order:

Tipsy Tales (Anemo Boys)

Symbiosis (Ayato)

What Destiny Has Brought (Fischl)

Hello How Are You (Gorou)

Follow the Wind II (Kazuha)

Of the Same Coin (Mika)

Songs of the Wind (Venti)

Nothing Lasts Forever (Yae Miko)

Sharing a Drink They Call Loneliness (Zhongli)

Of Hopes and Prayers (Zhongli)

[undefeatablesin]

Bloodborne. Playing Bloodborne. Going out and killing a few beasts. Finding my worth in the waking world.

[blitz0hno]

John's mindset abt his age makes sense unfortunately

It's well known that dogs age faster than humans

[eagleeyethree]

thinking about an alternate universe where betty returns but not everything is well

[franeridan]

ace's death might be the biggest thing fans regularly retcon in op fanworks and that's probably because ace is one of the most loved characters in the whole series but i was thinking that a huge part of why people can't just accept that it was a necessary evil and move on is that ace died without ever knowing sabo was alive and sabo got his memories back only after it was too late to do anything about them re: ace. by people I mean me. I find that unacceptable.

[kurozu501]

while im talking about the elans, i love how they did this shot in the op thats half elan 4 and half elan 5 (you can tell by the earrings) but only the elan 5 side opens its eye.

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

rewatched small potatoes, and jesus christ, what a premise for your lighthearted comedy episode 😡

[bratspike]

see the thing is when you're sick enough in the head everything is connected. but everything actually IS connected so i'm right