#Me: I've connected the dots.

[peacerisendove]

Once again I’m complaining about Bernard’s current characterization and random decision to make him a chef of all things/how he is currently a watered down milquetoast white boy. I still don't think it makes sense for him as a character, but I am suggesting my own solution on how Bernard being a chef could work while also rewriting how Tim and Bernard reconnect.

At the least if you want to make him a chef and still pull from his original (and honestly actual) personality at-least make a bit of an unhinged and maybe depressed chef as he tries to find himself. Like give him a bit of The Bear energy.

One of the things about Bernard was that he was a social chameleon. He could make himself fit in, in a lot of places, but that also opens up him to not really knowing who he is in himself. Which plays so well with being a chef. While in culinary school you might think you’re on top of the world, but beyond that you have to find yourself, you question your skills, whether your cooking is up to snuff, how you compare to other people/chefs, their skills, and their food constantly, and of course there’s multiple strong egos in a kitchen which you have to contend with.

I feel like chefs are fraught with identity issues and that could work so well with Bernard because he would also be searching for himself concurrently as he pursues Tim or figures out his sexuality/attraction towards Tim.

I think instead of the cult angle in Batman: Urban Legends that brings Bernard and Tim back together and them already knowing definitively that they are bisexual and pretty much immediately jumping into a relationship in subsequent comics, I think it should have been more exploratory and organic on both of their parts, and that while Bernard what sort of chef he is and his basis for cooking, he is simultaneously figuring out himself and who he is. His lack of knowing himself is reflected in his cooking, and that while he's figuring out himself his sexuality, and reconnecting with Tim (and they're going through a reconnecting period and dancing around flirting with each other) this development of himself and beginning notes of knowing who he is as an individual is reflected in his food.

So, yeah, my answer is basically make Bernard a bit depressed and and have him in an exploratory state where he's trying to find his own identity not only as a chef, but in his own personal life (which in turn is reflected in his cooking). And instead of things being all cookie-cutter neat and him having an established relationship with Tim, we instead get to see them both in an exploratory state of figuring out who they are as people, their sexuality, and their feelings toward each other as they reconnect.

[peecyjacksoo]

oh, don't mind me. Just thinking about how Percy canonically used nature magic even though that shouldn't have been possible for a normal demigod. (in the lightning thief on gabe, I swear)

oh don't mind me, i'm just thinking about how Sally seems to get younger when she's near the sea and her eyes change colors as well.

oh don't mind me, i'm just thinking about how Percy described the sea nymph his father sent to talk to him as looking exactly like his mother.

oh don't mind me, i'm just thinking about how Percy is part sea nymph and nobody fucking noticed.

EDIT: no I don't think sally is a full blooded sea nymph I still think she is more human than mythological creature. I just think it might explain a few things

[zackmartin]

HENRY DANGER: THE MOVIE (2025) ● dir. joe menendez

[odetokeons]

the two red •• dots blinking almost as if they were EYES.... 𓁹 RED eyes 𓁹 specifically..... [x]

[ogsherlockholmes]

Guess who's accidentally been writing a 40 page plus analysis of the entire Holmes canon with a new chronology based on the premise that Watson was a big fat liar and invented two of the most famous stories purely to see if someone might catch him out and therefore the game was all about how much Watson can get away with although it started out on the fact that he only wanted to hide his and Holmes' relationship then it spiralled and still got a LOT more to write but have no idea what to do with it when it's finished?????

[nickelwick]

"I was so focused on losing them...

...that I didn't realize I was losing myself."

*explodes*

[holoska]

after debating for weeks whether to stay very far away from the deltarune soriel discourse or let myself ramble about my faves like I want to, the latter has finally won out

I've had time to properly absorb the weight of all that happens at the end of chapter 4, and obviously I do feel for both kris and susie. that is The Point of the scenes being from their perspectives; after everything they just went through and all the worry they had for toriel's safety (for the second time in 24 hours!), the scene they come home to is maybe the most uncomfortable slap in the face possible. it sticks out to me that the last thing susie talks about before the dark fountain is sealed is her wanting tomorrow to be the same as yesterday and for everything to always be able to go back to how it was, and that's what greets them - a blatant, obnoxious sign that things are changing. even though the scene has a lighthearted side, its overall tone adds to the downcast feeling the chapter ends on.

having said that, as someone who has spent the past 9 and a half years being normal about sans and toriel, I'm still very very happy that this is a canon scene we got 💜

the fandom may be largely not considering their perspectives in the slightest (or worse, only viewing their perspectives from the most bad faith angles possible), but I for one love this for them!! as other very good posts have pointed out, toriel has been sorely in need of someone who's there for her - an awful lot of people in town saw the divorce play out and have something to say about it, the holiday family are closer to asgore than toriel, kris is her child and stuck in the middle of their parents' issues, and while she's friends with alphys, them being coworkers and alphys being kris' teacher likely puts a distance of sorts between them. but sans is new in town, someone she immediately connects with, who has no pre-existing opinions about her family and has seen firsthand what toriel has to put up with from asgore. in every universe, sans is exactly the kind of person toriel needs in her life.

there's less to work with from sans' perspective given how little we know about him, and I'm not all-in on sans being from deltarune just yet (more specifically I do love the theory, I'm just giving myself room to not be too disappointed if it doesn't happen), but the new version of it's raining somewhere else being named 'the place where it rained' emotionally destroys me forever. either way it drives home just how happy toriel makes sans in both worlds and I love that so so much :']

to be clear I'm not saying they did nothing wrong, their choices negatively impacted kris and susie and they were objectively disruptive and inconsiderate after kris went to bed. but I like that they're being messy and flawed, because it means this isn't just "my faves are getting closer in the background yippee" but that their relationship is potentially an actual part of the story, and that's how you get The Good Stuff!! we wouldn't have had meaningful character moments like noelle finally standing up to queen if queen hadn't tried to control noelle and just listened to her from the start, or susie comforting ralsei with her bloodied hand if he'd told her and kris every detail of the full prophecy the moment he met them and never kept any secrets. if all the hints towards a flower shop dark world turn out to be true then it's pretty clear the story is building things up to make those future character moments hit, and considering we still don't know what happened with the dreemurr divorce at this point, chapter 5 seems like a perfect opportunity to dive into all of that.

plus, as sweet as susie's bond with toriel is, I honestly think susie seeing this side of toriel needed to happen. a lot of the fandom's complaints about toriel right now boil down to her not being the "perfect mother" they thought she was, and what bothers me about that is toriel was never meant to be that kind of character. toby has said that she's not the classic video game protagonist's mother who sees you off on your journey and you can come home and visit any time, and nothing changes and she never has any substantial character of her own. in undertale she literally handholds frisk through the tutorial, she becomes the first boss in her attempt to protect them when every other human left her care, and once they leave she won't let them come back or even call her phone because she can't face seeing them knowing they'll leave again and likely be killed. she's more than just the mother figure of the game, she's her own person with likes and dislikes, hobbies and flaws, and a past and trauma she can't overcome until the best ending.

we've only seen the tip of the iceberg of her history in deltarune, but that same principle holds true: she isn't the perfect parent you return to after each day's adventure, who gives you butterscotch pancakes every morning and never has any real part in the story because that isn't the intent behind her character. she mentioned her loneliness back in chapter 1, kris has secrets and problems they aren't letting her in on, asgore is being relentlessly inconsiderate of her boundaries, and for all susie's praise of toriel being a good mother, I think that house of cards was going to fall eventually. my hope is that, like her blowing up at ralsei ultimately bringing them closer, susie being able to see toriel as the imperfect adult she is but one who does genuinely care might help them build a stronger bond in the end too.

I think I always knew that if soriel ever inched closer to being canon there'd be discourse about it, and toriel slander is unfortunately nothing new. people are just being annoying about it currently and it sucks when I genuinely love what's being built up here!!

anyway crossing my fingers for a scene where toriel invites sans to the festival before she gets thrown in the bunker/he gets sent to undertale/the roaring happens/all of the above 🤞

[appropriatelystupid]

[simbleleven]

Strangers: Meet Cute Ugly

Strangerville, but eleven-style, because what the fuck else? Been playing around with some character lore, and now I wanna do a Strangerville Playthrough with Alice. I'm busy setting up right now, since she isn't part of the Eclectic Arts Household anymore. I'm planning her whole family and everything. Meanwhile, I yoinked Erwin from his hidden NPC cave, and expanded his role. He's Going Through It. The Roswells are also involved, ehehe. Anyway; these two are gonna be my main duo, and this is how I think their first meeting went down, because I think I'm funny as hell. My guy gets greeted by one (1) pretty woman and immediately crumples. Please, he's terribly paranoid, he does apologize, after near interrogating Alice to figure out if she's military or not.

Playable CurioShop by Neoniti (Gallery)

[my-name-is-apollo]

Having a "I've connected the dots" moment on why Zeus is so affectionate with Apollo, and I don't know why I'd never considered it before that Apollo's youth could be a reason.

Iamblichus, The Life Of Pythagoras (trans. Guthrie)

So there was this sentiment that young boys are the dearest to the gods, and the gods are especially attentive towards their requests. And since Apollo is a perpetual young boy himself, with Zeus being the one to grant him this gift in one version, it makes sense that Zeus has granted so many of Apollo's wishes. He spared Prometheus and Periphas upon Apollo's request even though he was personally offended by them. He agreed to suppress Gaia and Athena upon Apollo's request when it came to the oracular business. He even revived Asclepius to console Apollo despite Apollo's frankly disrespectful reaction to Asclepius' death.

Apollo might be fearsome, powerful, and even reckless at times but when he kneels down in supplication, all Zeus sees is his little boy that he loves so much, and he can't help but give in to his requests (well, most of his requests at least). And as far as the text is concerned, and if I'm interpreting this correcltly, Apollo's youth is interestingly tied to his helpful nature because besides using his own powers to help the humans, Apollo can also help them by supplicating to Zeus on their behalf, as Zeus is more likely to grant a request when it's coming from him.

[catboydan]

no because WHERE did the """fiancé""" even fucking COME FROM. am i missing something in the vid where he had reason to pull the word fiancé out as a reference but there's NOTHING. NOTHING IN THE FUCKING VIDEO ABOUT MARRIAGE OR ENGAGEMENT LITERALLY NOTHING AT ALL.

philip michael lester are you TRYING to jumpscare us on purpose? or are you trying to prime us for... nay.... i shan't suggest something so... and just before pride month....

[sunderwight]

One thing about TBHX though is I can't tell if it just has generic "same face anime" syndrome going on in a lot of departments, or if my theory that a lot of these characters are actually secret clones or half-cloned designer babies all coming from the same sinister hero/villain factory has legs.

[itsthatlake]

Just had three days off work and spent the first basically just sleeping and the next two possessed by an art demon. Anyways, here's some screenshots from a scum villain animatic I'm working on

[iristial]

rider system album misora isurugi (build) | episode 4

[lizzybeeee]

"'BioWare Magic' exists to serve man, and never to rule over him." Faded words found within the pages of a dust-covered 'BioWare Employee's Handbook'

I think one of the most messed up parts about BioWare is that they renamed crunch to 'BioWare Magic'. Because they did make magic. They made such magical worlds, stories, and characters that managed to captivate so many hearts and minds - that potentially left such a profound mark on the lives of those who experienced those stories. These games were one of the reasons I got into drawing as a hobby! They inspired me so much!

We're they perfect? No. But in some of the darkest times of my life I found an escape - a distraction that gave me some comfort and allowed me to escape the stresses of my life for a little while. Something that gave me a genuine feeling of joy when depression hit me particularly hard. I still hear tunes like the theme for Castle Cousland or the Inquisition menu theme and just get this rush of emotion within me because I have so many happy memories associated with the first three games.

I got to go on adventures -> I made my own character who got to influence change in this lovingly crafted world, and who could be as daring and strong as I wished I was in real life. I got invested in these characters -> they became friends, companions, and fell in love and I was there every step of the way. I got lost in the story and lore of this world in a way that no other fantasy game has managed to grip me.

That is magic.

It's vile that they called crunch - the most toxic and disgustingly prevalent aspect of gaming development 'magic' - it is the complete opposite. Reading about the burn out, the stress leave or a 'stress casualty' when a developer left for good. Getting a job in the industry you love, to create things that you love, only to have that love twisted into this corporate psychological dumpster-fire of a work culture...

A healthy, well-run studio would not have had four iterations of the same game, their core developers hemorrhaging with every new iteration, before being dumped at the finish line with this frankenstein mess of a game.

There is no alternative to Dragon Age - it's the only thing like it. It's just so sad that it ended the way that it did.

[spectral-phases]

So, I know it's not a reliable source, but the Death Certificate for Jason Todd in the encyclopedia says he died at 15, and he does have a comic saying he can't wait to turn 16 so maybe that's accurate. But...

Anyone ever think about the juxtaposition of Jason dying four months before his 16th birthday and Bruce...doing what he did on Tim’s 16th?

Like. It's completely out of pocket. He jumped the damn shark. It's insane and abusive. Unacceptable, inexcusable, and damn near unforgivable (and could only be forgiven if Bruce would own up to how wrong it was and apologizing, but DC will never let that happen, so...unforgivable it is).

But he said his goal was to make Tim a better Robin. Turn his training up to the next level. And Jason is always regarded as the failed Robin, the one who was too reckless and that's what Bruce was ostensibly trying to train out of Tim. Wanting him to prove he could think before leaping.

(New Teen Titans 1980)

(Robin 1993 116) (They're examining the box with the message that was delivered for his birthday party earlier in the day...so...they both know what today is and what Bruce is helping Tim examine in the machine...and boy...that adds some layers to Alfred's reaction here)

(Robin 1993 120)

Anyway. I'm casting "go to fucking therapy and stop taking your trauma out on the kids around you" on Bruce. It's not very effective.

(Teen Titans 2003 29)

(Recolor of the Titans Tower Fight between Jason and Tim here, in my heart it is the way things ought to have been. Just as in my Jersey heart, I know Tim called Bruce a Motherfucker in Robin 120).