#anyways...idk if its gonna get to that point

[cyren-myadd]

A3 will "Deepen" Spider and Quaritch's Relationship "For Better or For Worse"

Read the article HERE!

yall I decided to take a break from social media for a week while I visited my family, and I figured nothing was gonna happen while I was gone since the Avatar fandom's been so dry lately. Imagine my surprise when this is literally the first thing I see when I open instagram after getting back from my trip!!

I have too many thoughts I'm just gonna blurb them all here

first off, this scene either means Spider got captured by Quaritch AGAIN! OR it means Spider willingly went with Quaritch for some reason and obviously isn't thrilled about it, and yikes, I don't know which option is worse! I'd hate to see him captured AGAIN after being a prisoner for so long, but I also don't want to think about what circumstances would lead to him willingly going with Q...

The very second thing I noticed was Quaritch's awesome hoodie, its got the recom logo on it, idk why its so funny to see him in casual clothing lmao. I want one of those. Q looks like he's trying to be a cool dad for his teen who's not buying it lol

anyways, getting more serious, Q just looks all happy and proud of himself, and his body language looks like he's trying to cajole spider into cheering up or doing something for him. At first glance, it looks like a nice scene, but when you stop and think about the context, it feels a little more sinister

What did quaritch do to get spider here? why's he trapped in bridgehead again? The room looks like yet another holding cell, so he's clearly reduced back to his weird POW/mascot status. What's Q trying to get spider to do now? Why does poor spider look so upset? Sir, can you not try to kidnap your child for 5 seconds 😭

Awhile ago I made a post speculating that Quaritch might respect Spider's decision to stay with the sullies and let him be as long as he's safe, but this image makes me think thats not happening!

But ANYWAY, onto Spider!

The metkayina tatt!! The seashells in his hair! The new loincloth! baby boy is getting accepted we love to see it

but uhhh somebody on reddit pointed out that if you look carefully at his wrists you can see the skin is red/bruised like he was handcuffed or tied down, poor boyyy😭😭😭

And I know this is just a still, but he looks so beaten down and tired of Quaritch's shit, he needs a break

Here's what Stephen Lang had to say in the interview:

“They reconnect out of necessity, their connection is not a solo connection. There are times when everybody comes together on some level. But, when enemies cooperate, you can be sure betrayal is just around the corner.”

So it's not just Spider and Quaritch who will reconnect, and I'm betting he's alluding to the leaked scene of Jake and Quaritch being forced to team up. But from the sound of it, that alliance is not going to last very long, which isn't surprising at all knowing Quaritch. Oh well, it'll be cool to see while it lasts

“Spider confuses Quaritch, but Quaritch wants clarity. There is something about Spider that Quaritch really loves — not a word we associate with him. I think respect and admiration really develop in spades, as well as animosity and manipulation. The relationship will deepen — for better or worse.”

Woop, there it is, basically lines up with what I was anticipating. Quaritch is confused, but deep down he really loves, respects, and admires Spider, and I think he'll be more willing to admit it after he called him son at the end of A2. However, there will also be animosity and manipulation, presumably meaning that even though Q genuinely loves Spider, he's still going to try to manipulate him into aligning with his goals, which won't end well for poor Spider. Aaaaaghhhh I love and hate these kinds of character dynamics: the love is there, the love is real, but it's not going to save their relationship because Quaritch can't let go of his villainous side. It's gonna be so tragic! I can't wait to see how it all pans out!

[thatneoncrisis]

i would loooooove to hear more abt ur opinions on kpop demons... i will admit i didnt like the movie overmuch but the vibes of your idol (the final villain song) have me by the throat

also bird with a little hat =]

uuuh ok compliment sandwich. also spoilers if you havent seen it go do that

the only songs i didnt like outright were soda pop and the ballad between rumi and that boy, and even soda pop is an earworm so it was doing its job. i dont listen to kpop ever so as an outsider it was pretty good

i thought the autotune on the first song of the movie was way too harsh, i also didn't think golden was great as a This Is Our Magnum Opus song

however they topped it with This Is What It Sounds Like so i can excuse it

the humor felt really Really babyish, like young elementary school and i never really got adjusted to it. just a lot of yelling and "hey look its hot women doing gross things like eating a lot and. yelling" it felt like the worst of butch hartman at times

it never felt like the movie was Trying to purposely trick me or do a subversion but there were still moments where i was suprised. like i did not think this thing had the balls to kill the love interest permanently

i retched openly every time those damn boys were on screen. sorry for being a hater lesbian or something i could not pretend they were cute they were so nothing to me

that tiger was perfect my friend and i cheered every time he showed up

the manager bobby and the stepmom felt like the shriveling vestigal limbs from an earlier draft of the movie. its so odd that celine isn't physically there like 90 percent of the runtime what is she DOING. it felt like they were setting up an arc for bobby to properly betray the girls but it just collapsed and he just flips when everyone else does

the fight scenes were a treat to watch, i was never a winx club kid but it was giving a lot of that

im gonna be honest when my friend and i first saw the glimpse of lover boys past we thought immediately that rumi was his daughter. "that was 400 years ago" completely ignored that but also maybe they had a magic excuse idk. anyway the point was for the first 3rd of the movie we straight up thought a plotpoint was that this guy was trying to connect with his long lost daughter but fans keep shipping them bc hes a sexy hunk. so simagine my surprise when they not only play the romance straight but the little girl was his SISTER. HELLO. this isnt the movies fault my expectations were skewed

the tagalog version of how its done clears. go listen to it right now

there were non comedic moments where it hit me that this movie is in fact for babies, like when the girls are talking about their insecurities and it is the most tell dont show shit ive seen in life like if just feels like this movie never has Time for anything. "im a problem child you guys accept me" IN WHAT WAY. YOURE FUCKING NORMAL GOD AT LEAST GET A SHITTY VOICEMAIL ON THE PHONE FROM YOUR MEAN DAD OR SOMETHING. they kept Teasing me with characterization that barely exists in the film like rustling a bag of dry kinble telling me its fresh salmon

the third act of this movie got me hype in a lot of good ways. rumi begging her step mom to kill her. the boys singing be your idol. the girls singing their new song ugh it just all came together i love dance fighting i love baddies i love music i love art and animation i love that ugly boy dying i love the new outfits i love a crowd of people powering up ancient magic i really FUCKING love turning red

rumis face reminded me of those online free to play make up games where you put masks and cream on someone with a unibrow and yellow teeth and pimples and rashy dry skin and make them look like 30 insta filters. i know this is literally what kpop girls look like but since she was animated and also standing next to her bandmates with more inique faces it kept throwing me off

every though i wish some things got more time i felt like this movie moved at a pleasant brisk pace. i was never checking my watch during a scene something was always happening. even the tonic man sets up the whole thesis of the movie

[riteliso]

What the fuck was even Shadow Weaver's plan for when she'd send out Adora to beat up civilians, was she just gonna hope for the best

bad fucking plan

ew I squished a bug and its on my hand EW

Anyway I missed the screenshot but maybe I woulda had something to say about Adora saying "this is all a big misunderstanding" but I was distracted by bloodsucker bug

would it be fucked up to get a tattoo of the horde symbol on the back of my neck because I kinda want to, y'know, where the chip was

kinning is weird because it makes you feel like a metaphor for the character as much as the character feels like a metaphor for you

Also my girl always complains that Adora's whole wardrobe change is just removing what are practically swastikas from her clothes and proceeding to dress the exact same for the rest of her entire life which like yeah it is a little silly

The fact that Catra drives after children, through a house

Kinda mean of her

But then again when I do mean shit half the time people just go "Aw, she has the zoomies" and then we end up in the fucking hospital so maybe it's that kinda situation idk

Yeah no this is fair, you did try to kill a bunch of kids just then but this is a fair criticism she did NOT take care to get home before people noticed

Also how's a freak girl supposed to sleep without lesbo gf foot warmth, anyway, it was irresponsible and thoughtless of Adora to act this way

It can be both

You ever had something so awful happen to you that you can't help but laugh? It unlocks a new aspect of the concept of humour, it's pretty cool

One time my brother was telling me how he just laid on our mom's side of our parents bed while our parents were away and just started uncontrollably weeping

we still laugh about it

Using a LOT OF MY SCREENCAP BUDGET HERE but this is a pretty important scene

This is where Adora gets to feel betrayed by Catra. Adora has always felt like everything was as it should be, like everything was okay. She saw the status quo, and she didn't think it was great, but she thought it was normal.

Catra has always been struggling. Trying as hard as she can to keep her head above water with weights strapped to her ankles. Of course she knows things aren't okay. But having someone by your side who always looks to the silver lining is just-- nice. Even if she didn't think Adora knew how bad things were, what's the point in co-miserating when you could just have fun within the narrow margins you DO have? The falling out they have here is because Catra's just been apathetically knowing everything's wrong, and waiting for it to blow over. She's never felt okay.

Adora might not feel like Catra lied to her by not struggling against the horde, but she definitely is rudely awakened to the fact that the two have never felt the same about it.

Adora thought the horde was genuinely doing good for the world.

Catra knew the horde for what it was, but didn't care. It was awful, but it was what it was. What's the point in struggling against it if you'll be at the head of it eventually, anyway? Just gotta prove your worth. Figure it out from there.

Adora, realizing this difference between them, can't see Catra the same way. Not for a long time. Realizing someone you love hasn't told you about something wrong, something that's been hurting them deeply for a really long time-- Sometimes it really feels like a betrayal.

I've hurt people by doing that, plenty of times. I try not to, but sometimes, despite my yappy nature, "help," "sorry," "it hurts," "it's worse than that," "I can't do that," and "thank you" escape my vocabulary. Also "please."

Catra has a one-track mind when it comes to Adora. I'm sure we'll talk about the parallels plenty later, but the vitriolic jealousy that both Glimmer and Catra suffer from is very much a driving force for each of them early on.

Catra clearly has no idea where her life is gonna end up going, but she knows that it'll be her and Adora together, always. She doesn't want that to change, and she doesn't want to compromise for it, either. Her whole life has been grit your teeth and play the hand you're given. Adora's been playing with a stacked deck, even in the fright zone, and now she's just gonna go-- play cards with people Catra doesn't even know. If someone who makes you happy and promises you'll always be together changes their mind? If they go to find someone else who can make them happier?

Even if things are okay when you're alone it really hurts.

If things aren't okay when you're alone, it feels downright fight or flight.

There's ultra-specific reasons I'm fixated on this in a negative way but I can't tell you because it's secret and also would be trauma dumping and also it happened like last week and I am NOT over it >:(

Can you believe people said this show was an example of queercatching

Like people saw this in episode 2 and were like "nah that's not lesbian enough for it to count"

THE WAY THESE TWO FIGHT, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND OTHERWISE, IS MORE LESBIAN THAN SCISSORING COULD EVER FUCKING DREAM OF BEING

This is a very pathetic little last stand she has. Not pathetic in a derogatory way. In a pity way. Which I know very well she'd absolutely despise, but that's the truth.

You can't always have your identity and your safety at the same time. Sometimes that means you can't have your identity and your home.

Catra's found one way to survive. She's not willing to look for another, not after this one hurt so bad and took so long to find. Not while something this difficult still feels so unstable.

But she's-- wrong. And Adora doesn't have to stick with her and sort all of her issues out before she leaves. Even if that is tragic. Adora is entitled to her identity, as is everyone who was ever born. Asking someone not to be themselves for selfish reasons is horrifically cruel, no matter what space you're in or how scared you might be.

I think this is the first place I'd say Catra fully acts, outside of anyone else's whims or wishes, like a genuinely bad person. And I fully understand her reasons, her fears-- but that's not good enough. She'll learn, yeah-- She'll get to a place where she'd never say or think this, but we're not there yet, and Adora is right to leave her, no matter how much it hurts both of them.

This is another example where voice direction kinda does a lot. Look at this screen shot, and you'd think she sounds angry, but she sounds-- heroic. In a way we really don't hear until, like, season 5. She's not yelling "Adora" like she's mad that Adora got teleported away, she's yelling it with a worry and a desire to protect her. And considering what just happened, and what I just said, yeah. That's pretty sad.

There's a good person inside there, and she's not even buried very deep. But a shallow grave is still a grave. Dig your way out, kitty. And try not to get turned around.

turn the brightness on that fucking sword down you light-mode ass bitch

She really wants to kill whenever Adora isn't onscreen and honestly I really get it

Honestly quite incredible that Bow survives this

jesus christ she's bright

Anyway, this is a nitpick I have with this episode

Why's she know she can do this

Why is she so calm while doing this

She-ra is not a distinct entity separate from Adora, She-ra is merely an identity and a title that Adora inherited. A lot of people get the wrong idea early on that there's some sort of distinction between the two, and even later on it's kind of gone over as people kinda treat Adora like shit because she-- isn't She-ra. Adora's a hero, though. She-ra is just Adora but bigger wearing something that shows a bit more skin. It's closer to a secret identity thing than it is anything else. But in these first two episodes, it doesn't fully come off that way.

bitch what did I JUST fucking say

"I'm sexually frustrated so I'm leaving"

Anyway if these are gonna take me THAT long I'm done for today I might continue tomorrow we'll fuckin see okay

ALRIGHT SO

Here's how we're doing things, right? We're gonna go one episode at a time, and I'm gonna give my thoughts whenever they come up. This is a train of thought type beat, alright? Unlike my usual grandstanding authorial and analytical self, this re-watch is purely for the rant factor. If you don't know me, and you just happened upon this thread because you like reading she-ra rewatches, hello. I'm a writer from Canada who found she-ra in 2025 and is currently on her sixth watch through. From that, hopefully you can discern that I like this show, even if I'm likely gonna criticize parts of it. We good to go? Good. We start with S01 E01.

RIGHT, THE SWORD PART 1! A zoom in, with an angelic singing being drowned out by digital bloopy fright zone vibes, and then Adora being a fuckin dweeb as her leitmotif plays in a decidedly crystiline synth-y tone.

Now, what do we learn from this? This, aside from one gripe I'll have more to speak on later, is an excellent introduction. With the music alone we're essentially taken from the beauty of the planet, the overwhelming dread of the fright zone, and then into a hopeful tune that isn't FREE from these sort of digital themes in the music, but is very defined and separate FROM them.

This isn't gonna be one of those things where I praise literally every single fuckin thing so keep your panties on, I'm not gonna full-on overanalyzing avatar this shit, but the most important parts of a story are the beginning and the ending.

Now, when I say that, I am speaking pragmatically. Every part of every story is important-- but when it comes to what people remember, what they love, what they never shut up about-- it's the start and the end. You need to nail the take-off and the landing, people will forget the turbulence from the rest of the trip.

Now, what does THIS bitch's intro tell us about her? Well, a lot, honestly. Most of what we know about Adora at this point is she plays by the rules, but she is a notably goofy person. She's goofy, but she's unwilling to goof-OFF too much.

And while we get a taste of the rivalry they have instantly, with "That's low, even for you." "You know nothing's too low for me~"

We instantly see that that is not the CORE of their relationship.

I'd like to praise the voice direction in this show for the first of many times here. The voice actors do amazing work in this, and the direction can be felt throughout.

"Come on, you look stupid hanging there" can obviously be a seen as a strange first line to show the warmth these two share, but the inflection from Catra's voice actor, AJ Mikalcha, makes it read as downright sweet.

Also don't get used to me using names of the crew besides ND Stevenson because I'm so awful with names I was still calling Catra Katara half the time on my second re-watch and I was like 90% of the way to realizing I kinned her at that point

Also don't make fun of me for kinning Catra there's no RESPONSE to people making fun of you for kinning Catra THAT DOESN'T MAKE YOU SEEM MORE LIKE FUCKING CATRA OKAY

Anyway, the following scene makes it clear that this is not a one-way dynamic. The two banter, and it's clear Adora knows how to get under Catra's skin and annoy her as well. This is notable in a few places MUCH further on, but it is a difference worth highlighting NOW.

Once Adora leaves, Catra's primary goal is still to get under her skin. She's angry about it, she's mean about it, but she's still just doing what she's always done. The relationship between the two doesn't actually change as much as the context does. I'd say the relationship itself doesn't change much until the final season, at a scene I'm sure I'll have a lot to say about.

On the flip-side, Adora's goal when it comes to Catra is simply to fight her off. But that's not all there is. At points, it's clear that Adora holds some sort of REVERENCE for Catra, and while Catra is very capable of very mean things, don't get me wrong, Adora sees Catra as more of a threat than she realistically is.

At a few moments I'll point out she also relishes in getting under Catra's skin, but admittedly those are few and far between.

People have gone over this introduction billions of times, so I won't BORE you to death with it, but Shadow weaver's introduction does hint at a lot of what we'll learn later. I think it's very notable that while Shadow weaver brings a dark gloom that encompasses both our leads, her vile tendrils only dare to touch Catra. We learn the specifics of the dynamic these three have later, but it is a very unique and terrible situation to be the least favourite of an abusive guardian. Especially if you are repeatedly reminded of that fact.

I'm not gonna go over all the body language shit I've seen other text posts about it there's plenty of them a lot of focus in this show goes into tiny details where characters are constantly reacting to the world around them, and very rarely do we get lame stretches where anyone's face is just frozen and unflinching while they listen to someone else.

with all due respect to the setting at this point in time the bright moon rebellion is so pathetically anemic it's the two teens, some movie night lesbians, an immortal princess queen, and a bunch of fucking trees.

And you'd think the one carrying the team would be THE IMMORTAL PRINCESS QUEEN, BUT NO, ITS THE FUCKING TREES DOING ALL THE GOD DAMNED WORK

This introduction is fine. I don't particularly like it, nor have any strong feelings about it. It establishes the relationship between glimmer and her mother, but besides that it doesn't honestly do much. And don't come at me with "Uh, all it needs to do is establish that relationship?" Yeah, no shit, but we just had a better introduction to our other lead characters. And yes, those are the MAIN leads, the sort of heart of the show, but that doesn't mean that the other characters are unimportant. Glimmer's development later on is truly interesting, and Bow becomes a massively inspiring character. Fun jokey times are fine or whatever to show that they're immature and don't know the first thing about war, in contrast to our full-blown child soldiers raised from birth in the fright zone, but we really don't learn anything particularly INTERESTING about our best friend squad compadres in their intro, nor do we really see any of it until episode 2, to be frank.

This is something we don't actually see much of-- Catra has this ideal of being a conqueror, but it's very clear that she doesn't want that. Her threats are vapid and aimless-- She can enjoy some chaos, sure, but a shit-stirrer isn't gonna use that feces to build brick shithouses that they never intend to fall.

I think this should have been elaborated on more, personally. Catra is comically terrible with authority, and her plan, as stated later, is to wait it out until her and Adora are the ones calling the shots. But we don't really see what she thinks conquering even looks like, and it's not clear whether that's that she hasn't even imagined it and just likes evil words, or if she genuinely wants to rule with Adora as her Queen.

I gravitate towards the first, but that's partially because I wake up and post shit like "I want to destroy the world and rule its dust" and then forget I posted it when someone likes it 5 minutes later. If she do, in fact, as studies point toward, "be just like me fr," then I fully understand. If not, then I'd like to understand.

aw :(

Fuckin dweeb pulling the "my mom doesn't want me hanging out with you anymore" card

HA! Ah, what a bitch. Anyway, she's lashing out, but it's also quite tragic. A lot of people seem to think Adora IS, in some way, a people pleaser, but in reality she just has such an ingrained and violent sense of justice that she wants to right every wrong she has ever and will ever come across. She believes her validity is tied to what she can provide to the world, and she's got a natural sense of charisma, so it's natural for someone who refuses to blend in and naturally tends to put people off like Catra to have this view of her.

In reality, Adora is just-- a good person. And people LIKE good people. She's not a good person with an asterisk-- a good person with terms and conditions-- someone who falls into the definition of a good person while feeling and being treated like something else. Catra is the "a tomato is a fruit" of good people. Adora is just, like, a 1 dollar costco hotdog of a woman. An inarguable good treading water on this earth, no matter how hard it tries to pull her under.

Imagine falling for a brat with mad hops, like a fucking 50 foot vertical, you say you're too tired to play their favourite board game and they go hang out on your neighbour's roof, couldn't be me. Get fucked I guess

Yeah this is sad. Empathy is very much a learned skill, and people who don't learn empathy don't GET happy FOR people. Catra's not a complete person yet. She's not ready to be. That doesn't happen for a really long time, during an exceptionally long manic spiral. We'll get there, calm down, don't think about how far away that is and how much I've already yammered on.

Anyway, if you find yourself getting jealous or annoyed instead of getting happy for people, consider empathy isn't what you thought it was, and that you might still need to work on yourself.

fucking porno framing. Immensely sexual image, really. These bitches violently gay I suppose, I think I'm picking up on that during this sixth re-watch.

Buddy you got no idea how many problems those two already have you literally lose your little tiara at some point I think it ends up in the middle of a tree in space or something it's kinda unclear

Adora elbows her square in the nose during this so to everyone accusing Catra of physical abuse I just want it to be clear that Adora started it :/

Actually I'd like to retract that joke immediately because I know how people get about these two

My feelings are that they are literally child soldiers who were likely raised sparring each-other.

I was raised sparring other children and I ended up fine! Not for war, for Karate. And I didn't end up fine. And neither did they. Anyway, my point isn't even specifically that because this is sci-fi fantasy it's ridiculous to hold real life standards to it, it's more-so that because it's sci-fi fantasy there's extenuating circumstances that are going to affect how these two characters treat each-other. I'll go into hotter takes later, I'm sure, and get people to send me plenty of death-threats, but I'm gonna go into the nuances of exactly what forms Catra's abuse takes, and how it differs given by the separate circumstances we're shown the two in throughout the show.

my girl when I'm tryna live my best life playing as blue toad in mario 3d world

also holy shit we're only like halfway through this I am an AGONIZING yapper jesus fuck

Okay, what to say about lighthope-- well, their first words are "balance must be restored," far before they say Adora's name, so it somewhat lays out their secret priorities for us there. Besides that, I dunno, they got circuits on them? I don't have particularly strong feelings about lighthope, nor their introduction. I think they serve the setting and are written well, I just subjectively am not a sucker for the way they be. Their friendship with Mara is cute tho

I was gonna point out this is cute and how often I do this exact brat tactic but instead we data moshin, nothin wrong with a little data moshin, I'm down

This is the only reason she even wears a ponytail I'd stake my fuckin life on it

Once she leaves the fright zone that thing's fucking vestigial like a tailbone or having "any pronouns" in your bio when it's pretty clear you're very much a "she/they" type of bitch by now

glimmer why don't your windows have glass

or alternatively

how the fuck do you open and close that window

you can absolutely fucking hear her from this distance what on earth are you trying to pull

you a pillow princess tho how many of those arrows are just hitatchi magic wands attatched to a stick with duct-tape after the series ends do you think

The fuck you mean BOTTOM drawer we lookin at left and right here

or is this similar to my pillow princess comment and she's just addressing him and giving him an order

"Bottom; drawer."

It's established later on that he's a tech wiz but at this point in time they don't really give us much to lead us to the fact that he made that fucking thing

she's a freak

yes it's very sweet that she sleeps this way but I don't think it's some bdsm powerplay thing or anything like that, which would honestly be more tolerable, I think she's just like that

like how the way I'd sit in high school was to get two chairs and face them toward each-other then sit cross-legged across both

even if there weren't enough chairs to go around

people would sit on the FLOOR because I wanted to sit criss-cross-applesauce across two chairs, they wouldn't even ask for one of my chairs

also since I was sitting, again, cross-legged, it would have made more sense for ME to sit on the floor

I mean I think I got asked ONCE for one of the chairs and I just said "fine" but besides that people just let me sit on my fuckin throne

She really is kinda dumb, though. Like I ain't complaining, it's a character trait, but like obviously even if just you get in trouble Catra's gonna get blamed, you've seen it like at least once a month for your whole entire life

Mind you, can't really have Catra for the next part, because Catra's reaction to Bow and Glimmer wouldn't be "just let me have the sword" it'd be murder

oh wow we hit the image limit looks like we're doing TWO SEPARATE POSTS FOR THE VERY FIRST EPISODE YEE-HAW!!!!! THIS IS GOING TO TAKE ME FUCKING FOREVER

[gifti3]

i wrote a really small thing related to this post! I've been getting back into OIs so i came up with this arranged marriage scenario in a Victorian setting for Asmo and MC and have been chewing on it for the past several days lol I think I'm gonna come up with more stuff for this later but I just wanted to post this for now φ(゜▽゜*)♪

The weather was nice out today so you decided to go for a walk around the estate garden and rest in a somewhat secluded spot. Unfortunately, someone had managed to find you. How did the two of you keep running into each other in place so vast?

"Sooo….." Asmodeus leans into your space to look at the pages of you book. "What are you reading?"

"…A book."

"…Well yea, but what is the book about?"

You hold back your sigh and answer instead. "It's just about something I took interest in recently…"

Asmo stares at you for a moment. "You know, I'm starting to realize something about you."

"You are?"

"Uh huh," he nods. "At first, I thought you were a cagey person, but you're just really socially awkward you know? You kind of remind me of one of my brothers."

You close your book without making note of the page you were on. "I'm going back inside. Goodbye."

"Wait, I didn't mean it in a bad way!"

You sigh. "Are you sure? Cause you've been pretty rude to me several times before. So I'm having a hard time believing that."

Asmodeus makes a face. "It was an observation?"

"Okay. Can you just…let me read please?" The request came out harsher than you intended but maybe you were feeling a little defensive.

So what if you were "awkward". You weren't expecting to talk to anyone when you came out here.

Asmodeus huffs and leans back on his hands. But he doesn't leave…. for some reason. Maybe he was bored?

You flip through your book trying to find what page you were on.

"Page seventy six."

You look over at Asmo who has already busied himself with inspecting his nails.

"Thanks."

[dreamsy990]

TELEMACHUS AND ANTINOUS. FINALLY

[tenderjock]

I’m with you, my love The lights shining through on you Yes, I’m with you, my love It’s the morning and just we two

[crowsgrudge]

fionna's world being represented by a dandelion makes so much sense ... they're weeds. yet people make wishes through them, changing their whole meaning from something meant to be destroyed to something hopeful.

dandelions are also resilient and it makes sense that something associated with them would. you know. perservere despite the destruction caused by the scarab.

but ultimately i think what REALLY made me tear up over this is that dandelions are really boring plants. when you're a kid you blow on them and make your wish but they're not eyecatching or anything but still, fionna's final wish was for her old world to still exist as it was when she left it (> plain and simple. boring even).

like the moment she realized she would lose her friends, and that her friends might forget each other if the world got its magic back, she immediately decided she didn't want it and I think that ties back to the dandelion metaphor so well... like, do you really need magic to be real to find it everywhere? or can you turn something boring into something magical?

[sleepyblr-heart]

friendship, or something like it

[starscelly]

i have kind of an aimless rant abt the treatment of non-white and/or non-north american by hockey fans.... specifically in the context of the stars ....... saw a thread today commenting on the play of wyjo this playoffs (which. for ranting sake we're gonna handwave away my biases and beliefs on play this playoffs by. anyone really) and it was immediately met with someone pivoting, saying roope's play hasn't been the greatest (okay) and that he's probably not the 1C the stars need to win the c*p (hey what) hey what. hey. what.

and its just....... how quickly hockey fans (general) are able to overlook the potential ehh play of a promising young canadian but the second a european player is not scoring a goal a game its ehh :// maybe we don't need him :/// maybe he's dragging the team down, even ://// as if he is not being expected to do the same things that are probably making wyjo struggle as well, having to play back defensively so often .... but its Different and Worse because he's european :// didnt you know that ://

same phenomenon with jrob too, obvs not um. currently. but the second hes not hitting 100pts a season people are like hmmm maybe he's not even very good.... at all..... and its like hey so he's actually improving Every Other Area of His Game did you notice that. and they go nooo. no goal ): he's bad ): . and i go hey so another left winger that hasn't been the hottest the past few years, jamie, what are your feelings there? and they go oh greatest captain in the league! wouldn't get rid of him for the world! btw we should trade that weird filipino first liner ASAPPPP.

and it's the fact that it's not even just present among The Straight The White The American The Cis Men of hockey but subconsciously present in Gay Woke Hockey Fandom too that's EXHAUSTINGGGG

[kelocitta]

In honor of the @rw-ship-showdown I wanted to write about Artihunter as someone who jokingly slapped them together pre-downpour and still thinks they are actually very compelling. Just not in the super soft love wins kinda way (Although I get why people like that more) And the only way I know how to do that is talking too much so heres a far too long slug essay-

Obviously the slugcats don't offer a ton of characterization but theres not nothing to work with. Their stories, whether by their roles in it or the overarching themes do provide a backbone to work with. Even gameplay itself can provide a bit. (for some more than others) Hunter, to me, is ultimately a story about selflessness. The goal is to revive Moon, which is very much an act of kindness from both Hunter and NSH. But the weight of that action is much more significant for Hunter- Hunter is deeply sick. They're on the clock, and for all their skill in combat none of that will ultimately help them to survive longer than their body can hold out. Moon is a close friend of NSH but that means little Hunter- Hunter really gets next to nothing out of helping them, and ultimately pays quiet a bit spending their limited time alive fighting to deliver that neuron so that someone else can live.

To spend ones limited days on helping another, in a game that very much stresses the unwavering cruelty of the world and nature- is pretty notable. (And you could even say that Hunter being the Hardmode of Rain World adds another layer to this)

And then we have Artificer. A storyline that very much stands out to people as more… villainous (so to speak) than the other slugcats. Artificer's story covers a lot of things. Trauma, violence, revenge, etc. Revenge is a bit of a selfish desire- That need to see someone hurt as they have hurt you. A punishment that ultimately does not fix whatever harm was done- but feels good to see because you were hurt and now those responsible share that pain.

Artificer's actions are founded in that need for revenge, their pups killed for overstepping boundaries they didn't know existed. Is it not fair for them to be angry at that, to punish the scavengers for their violence with their own? Why should the scavengers ever be forgiven when they and their pups were not? And that's how you get that loop- Harm for harm over and over.

The original action has been lost in a spiral of violence for violence. And here stands Artificer- their very spirit scarred. Not just because they sought revenge, but because they never ceased trying to scratch that itch for violence as an answer. Artificer only has two paths for their story- killing the scavenger king (Someone who, really, has little to do with the original 'crime' of the scavengers, but represents an important individual to them- as did the slugpups to Artificer), locking themselves as karma one for good and spending the rest of their life chasing creatures that no longer even fight back in a warped sense of closure- or to dissolve themselves in the acids of the void sea because they're too far gone to find any real peace.

They can't meaningfully recover from that state, not alone, twisting in on themselves. Even if they halt their actions, they've been using violence as a feeble defense against their own pain- violence that no longer has any real direction or basis. Artificer gets no real closure from killing the scavenger king. All they can do is continue the cycle, or try to scrub it away. No real peace in a prison of their own making. So you have a creature, who even with a strict timer on their life- a body that will crumble to disease, spends its last bit of time on saving another. And another who was so caught up in the pain of loss that were eaten alive by their own anger, poisoned their own soul on such a deep level even self-proclaimed gods have no solution for them. What peace can they offer each other? For Hunter, its only a fleeting moment of happiness- of selfish love, before their own body fails them. A bit of indulgence in something for themself. For Artificer, its a single, comforting thread to ground them again, something tangible to protect and care about again. But thats a thread that will ultimately be snapped under the cruel indifference of the world. Hunters timer will tick down regardless of if it takes another with it. Its a tragedy- its doomed to end badly. Whatever good it offers to either of them to find each other will only provide the fleeting comfort of a band-aid that will be ripped away too early. But all that can be worth indulging in anyway, if only for the moment. It doesn't change the ending, but the ending was never going to be happy. Its can so yuri

[janeways-coffees]

Ok ngl the lack of understanding of the word "diversity" by the wheel of time casting director is starting to piss me off. It's actually important to mutliple plots that there are different ethnic groups that look different and are indentifiable by those looks.

Rant/criticism below the cut

Rand needed to stand out like a sore thumb in the first few episodes. Just like? Its a plot point that the two rivers is so inbred its one of the few places there hasnt been complete breeding out of channeling- so why the fuck is cenn buie white??? Why was there a random east asian extra?? Like im sorry all the two rivers folk should be played by austrialian aboriginal or black people like madeleine madden or zoë robbins because the PLOT POINT is that theyre inbred.

The fact that you have characters from the same ethnic group played by actors from different groups diminishes the importance of that ethnicity.

I think this bothers me so much because first of all, robert jordan clearly understood that ethnicity and ethnic groups matter. When in Dumai's wells they bring together the Aiel and Cairhien and Tairens and Two Rivers Folk, perrin comments that they cant tell the Aiel on their side apart from the shaido aiel. This, im willing to bet, mirror's Jordan's experience in Vietnam. He was white and ignorant and couldn't tell his south vietnamese allies from the north vietnamese enemies. Its an important acknowledgement that this shit happens in warfare. You need uniforms because in real life you can't always tell friends from enemies on sight.

Additionaly, as someone who isn't in the in-group it matters that I can recognize my people. Growing up in a realtively white blue collar area in the states I was always quizzed on my ethnicity (they could tell I wasnt white-like-them) and then when I entered spaces with my own people I could always find them and I didnt look different.

And this is something I've seen a lot in progressive spaces. People treat ethnicity as though it's something that is a shell- that beneath your different skin tone, were all the same! (White) this isn't just a wheel of time issue, but it's an excellent case study of casting a number of actors of color while erasing the actual diversity of the story.

EDIT: i had a note in here about alanna and leave being played by very different actors despite both being from Arad Doman. Turns out Alanna is Arafellen. Oops!

[ruvigapo]

Hey this is so niche but i did a pentagon based design of the xhorhaus and i low key would pay cr to use a design like this for the animated show bc it is just So Neat i Love shapes ♡♡♡♡♡

(Btw please do immagine that veth and yeza have a ladder down into the laboratory)

[chlotual]

im fr considering dropping out of school after this sem i cant take this shit anymore man

[thegayestaddams]

girl u better believe that after s5 comes out ill be watching the byler kiss scene on REPEAT. u will not be able to drag me away from the tv idc

[mustasekittens]

congratulations christopher!

self indulgent near-future in which when christopher graduates high school buck n eddie take hiim to hawaii to celebrate and they all have a nice vacation over here. friend n i were brainrotting it a bit and we decided buck definitely hyperfixated on hawaii and stuff (history, nature, geography, mythology, etc)

[lemonywings]

grimpuzzleman but its actually just grimpulse with skizz 3rd wheeling everything they do together because watching grian get more and more angry is incredibly funny.

like grians spent all morning being giddy about seeing his beloved, theyre gonna have a lovely day together ruining peoples lives for shits n giggles. and then he shows up to impulses base to see skizz right there waving at grian. hes got an innocent smile on but just like scar this mf knows EXACTLY what hes doing.

poor guy just wants to have a good day with his favorite 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴 and get up to shenanigans, but is now stuck with what is essentially the worlds sweetest cockblock.

could go either way on if impulse knows hes doing it on purpose or not. both options are funny.

you got impulse whos just happy to have his best friend and partner around at the same time. hes like :D omg :D my bestie and my pookie dookie :D best day of my life :D. meanwhile grian is foaming at the mouth resisting the urge to unleash another impossible minecraft moment onto skizz.

or, you got impulse who knows EXACTLY whats going on, but also finds it just as funny as skizz does. playing oblivious to see how long it takes until grian goes feral and rips the poor guy into shreds.

he cant help it seeing pookie slaughter the innocent is lowkey cute af. that and also impulse could probably blow up half the server and grian would forgive him cause he did it for the lols.