#i never thought about the parallel between them

[ask-the-rag-dolly]

Okay Bee I was flashbanged by a Ragatheory entering my mind last night and I need your opinion on it as the Ragaexpert

Okay, what if, Ragatha and Jax are related.

Hear me out, maybe not siblings since it would be a 13 year age gap but what about like, cousins

Like, maybe Ragatha's side is the rich one and Jax's the not so rich but both sides have a farm.

This is loosely put together and based on that both of them are (kind of) tied to farms and on me interpreting that one glance to the side in ep 5 from Jax as Ragatha talked about her mom as him knowing who she's talking about and having feelings about it. So, uh, not much evidence.

Though, after re-watching some interactions between the two (maybe this is just my brain) they do give me the vibe of "close relatives who grew apart", specially that one fight in the background from ep 3 after Jax throws a baseball right at Gangle's face.

As a last point, I feel like it would make for quite the parallels and sillies, like, imagine them interacting pre-circus: "Hey doll why don't you fight back. You should scream at her once in a while." "Are you insane? Scream?? At my mom???"

Anyway I have more stuff in my brain but I'll end it here because this is all I could coherently put together, love your work 🦅🦅

i personally interpreted jax looking away as him relating to ragatha having a Shitty Parent . because let's be honest that man has a LOT of issues to work with . also i'm so concerned about his fixation on masculinity . like i won't be surprised that to parallel ragatha having an abusive mother , jax has an abusive father that pressured him to be like a Man . i'm not sure if i'm sticking with that prediction but it really wouldn't surprise me .

i love the idea of their dynamic being like siblings or even Adopted siblings , but being actual relatives ? ... idk , never really appealed to me .... at most i think they could've had met once or twice through their parents but that's it .

besides umm ! these two are a popular ship and i think if they were actually relatives gooseworx would've said something about it a long time ago , or it would've been hinted at more in the show .

though ! to entertain the idea a little bit i do find the thought of them knowing each other pre-circus Hilarious . like imagine jax , who's dirty from spending all day tending to the farm . and then he sees this fucking real estate girl with her pretty pearls and golden rings riding an expensive horse . and he Seethes .

[infriga]

One piece chapter 1153:

I know I've already brought this up but I feel like saying it again, I really like the way Oda is deconstructing the Elbaph myth that he's spent so much of the series building up. It's made very apparent in this flashback that back then Dorry and Brogy were actually exceptions to the rule in their fair treatment of humans. The spirit of Elbaph we see in them that inspired Usopp and caught the reader's fancy turned out to be more of a reflection of who they are as people, though their kindness does better represent what kind of country Elbaph wants to be now. Harald himself even says that they have an "unusual disposition" in that regard, which I think is really interesting. And it makes what they've been turned into even more tragic with that in mind. Like I've mentioned before, Oda doesn't seem to be saying that there's anything wrong with having a warrior culture, or enjoying a good fight, but he's no longer separating that idea from the reality of violence and its consequences when used selfishly and needlessly. Dory and Brogy are violent and rambunctious and loud and irreverent, to each other, because they know the other is fine with it and reciprocates, but they were always gentle and kind and respectful to Luffy's crew. Their violence is controlled, purposeful even when it seemed frivolous to others. We've only seen them using it against other people in order to protect someone. Harald's violence, and by extension Elbaph's, wasn't controlled, not originally. It spilled out to other countries, other people, and caused a lot of harm.

Another thing that's interesting in this arc is the way Oda is depicting adherence to tradition here:

These panels are so jarring because in all the other panels the Elbaph citizens are depicted as jolly and boisterous, their faces individually drawn and visible, and while they're a bit confused about Harald's sudden change in personality they're still open to his ideas. But in these moments where an obsession with tradition rears its head, suddenly they become these faceless and jagged horned shadows.

This theme actually contrasts quite well with Egghead, because Oda is clearly trying to strike a balance between two extremes. In Egghead we got to see the very real dangers of progress with Vegapunk and the things he wrought in his desperate search for knowledge and innovation. I've made a meta post about it before but the reason why York ended up being the traitor was because Vegapunk's greatest weakness and vice was his desire for more, more funding, more knowledge, more discoveries, and more progress at all costs. In the end his greatest regrets came from that hunger for more, and so his hunger was what betrayed him to the government and got him killed. In his own words, "In my desire to push the world forward into the future, I flew too close to the sun."

Elbaph seems to be representing the other extreme, the dangers of staying too stuck in the past and not being willing to move forward, as well as the importance of people choosing to move forward towards a more peaceful future. But even then there is still an emphasis on the importance of a culture's history.

Oda has never depicted traditions as inherently good or bad, but he definitely leans towards leaving harmful traditions behind. It's actually an interesting parallel to the situation with Calgara and Norland. Norland didn't disrespect the Shandian's culture as a whole, but he also didn't believe that people should be harmed for the sake of maintaining tradition and he harshly denounced the act of human sacrifice, calling it barbaric. But when he found out that the trees he cut down to stop the spread of the plague were sacred ancestor trees, he felt terrible and said that the Shandian's were completely justified in their anger because what he'd done was unforgivable even if he'd just been doing what he thought was right. He recognized that he should have told the Shandian what the issue was and discussed it with them because he does respect their culture and their feelings on the matter.

But the Shandians do forgive him once they learn it was for their own sake, and importantly the way they show that forgiveness, the way they connect with Norland, is through another tradition. Ringing the bell of Shandora so that Norland may someday find his way back to them, lead home to them the same way their ancestors are. So It's not that traditions are treated as inherently bad, just the ones that are destructive, that hurt people, that ruin or end lives. The good traditions are ones that connect people, and make them happy, and tie them to their history and the history of others.

Similarly, chapter 1153 is all about the importance of those differences and the importance of learning about and experiencing other cultures and exchanging with them. But when their traditions become harmful, destructive, that's when they become a problem. Especially when they start to encorporate discrimination.

In the end it always comes back to the importance of the people, without whom there would be no culture and no traditions to begin with. And while I do hope it can still be saved, Elbaph deciding to burn everything down to save their kids is actually a perfect culmination of this narrative thoroughline, even more so because this time it's the good kind of history and culture being burned. And it fucking hurts because it doesn't deserve to be destroyed like that. But because of that it puts emphasis on what is most important. As Norland said, "people's lives are more precious."

With that in mind it's worth noting that Nika is meant to be a god of the people. Oda has typically depicted rulers and kings and gods as 2 kinds of people. The bad ones believe that people should serve them, and the good ones believe they should serve their people. Enel vs Gan Fall. Wapol vs Dalton. Doflamingo vs Riku. Orochi vs Oden. Kaido vs Momo. Etc. But Nika, and Luffy, are never depicted as ruling over anyone and never serving them either, just saving them, freeing them and bringing a smile to their face. Luffy even says he doesn't want to conquer anything, despite having a conqueror's will. What he's conquering is himself. I think that's part of why he doesn't want to be seen as a hero, because he doesn't want to tie others down or be tied down himself. It's funny because he's the kind of guy who doesn't really plan for the future, and doesn't care about anyone's past. He is the ultimate example of living in the present. In a way he's arguably struck the perfect balance between the two extremes by simply not engaging with them and just doing his own thing, which in light of everything I've said is kind of hilarious and very typical of Luffy. He's irreverent towards both tradition and progress, but he does care about people.

Anyway I'm just really enjoying the themes of Elbaf so far and how well they've resonated throughout the story and I just had a lot of feelings about it that I wanted to try to put into words lol. Oda is always great at packing a lot of meaning into relatively short flashbacks and this chapter was a really good example of that. Also Ida is great and Harald had good taste in women (fuck Estrid all my homies hate Estrid).

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

[seeminglyunconcious]

Parallel Universe #3100

In which a universe where Pangi 100 visits Lukey 3000 in Brighton, where he just moved. This is their aimless walk around a topic which they've both avoided all day.

Or the Skam Fr night-walk scene inspired by my own getting lost that one time I visited Brighton.

Read online or below!

Lukey studied the Pangi’s profile, his jaw was clenched and brows furrowed; he seemed to be deep in thought. Well, he would be too if he wasn’t so distracted by his friend.

There was something about the younger man that mesmerized him. Perhaps it was how the lights and shadows played with his features, making his jawline more pronounced or how his dimples were more expressed as the sunlight hit him a certain way. Twice now he had to stop himself from reaching out and rubbing a thumb over the mole just beneath his cheek. In short, Luke could admire him all day as one would do the artwork in the Louvre… he is art. 

Or maybe he was just madly in love as those cliche stories go. Lukey let out a light laugh, attracting Pangi’s attention.

“What are you laughing at?” His hazel eyes met the sunlight, immediately making him squint, but Lukey was once again dazzled—it's crazy how perfect the sun turned his eyes into gilded amber. Something he’d never noticed before, but noted down in his mind.

He offered a smile, “Nothing, just thinking how great it would be if you moved here ya know? We could be roommates or if not that, at least we could see each other every day instead of through the phone.”

“I don’t know man… It’ll be weird moving here and starting fresh.” Pangi huffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He was wearing the blue flannel Lukey wore out this morning when they had left his flat; throughout the day it had bounced between them and ended up with Pangi.

Blue looked good on him, especially his blue.

They walked in silence passing by an empty road and found themselves in some sort of garden. It had mottled pavement and high walls worn down by erosion and climbing ivy, a sight not really found in public areas. Were they trespassing, probably… not? Lukey hadn’t ever walked to this part of Brighton before, preferring walks on the beach and roads adjacent.

“Well, I’m not going to push you, but a lot of our friends are here so you wouldn’t be alone. I wouldn’t mind sharing my bed with you till you got your own.” Lukey flashed him a teasing smile, the events of this morning still fresh in his memory. “Always fun to wake up to a surprise, right?”

—--

They’d been sharing said bed for about three days now; somehow, they kept gravitating towards each other in the middle of the night. They tactically kept quiet about it, both avoiding the blush that accompanied them in the morning as they untangled their arms and legs. There was definitely a conversation to be had, but Lukey knew when to push and pull.

Like professionals trained in PR, they both danced around the subject when friends came up to tease them or when subtle gazes lingered a little too long. Up until this morning… They got lost in enjoying each other’s presence, shirts off- it was sweltering even in the morning mind you- in Lukey’s bedroom with the windows open and sheets beneath their feet.

In a fit of boredom, Pangi decided to launch a tickle attack on him out of the blue. They both tumbled out of the bed, dragging the thin blanket along till they were both an entangled, giggling mess on the floor.

Pangi hovered over Lukey, holding the older boy’s wrists to either side of his head with a victorious grin, panting between laughs. Lukey was laughing too, painfully aware of their situation- his situation, but trying to brush it off with thoughts of cold water and the ugly smell of the alleyways outside.

Lukey couldn’t help but admire how comfortable they’d gotten with each other. Then, Pangi leaned back-

“AH!” x2

—--

It was now the evening, bordering sunset. They’ve been outside the whole day, a seemingly massive diversion from their little experience in the morning. They had just gotten dinner with some of the Brighton crew before they went on their own and strayed off the main roads.

Lukey couldn’t lie, he didn’t know where they were heading or where they were, he just felt it was right to go here. If you avoid the occasional tombstone and grave markers it was quite a restful area with little to no people; no pun intended. Could there have been better places to take your crush on a walk-and-talk about feelings? Absolutely, the beach was right there. But, he’d promised himself before Pangi came to visit that he’d make it a memorable one regardless of the process.

“It’s not that I don't want to- just, let me think…” The younger boy paused again, his eyes scanning the surroundings and a hand rested beneath his chin, Lukey could almost hear the gears turning.

“Just… it’s a big commitment y’know? And-” he paused slightly, one eyebrow raised in worry and slowly pointed an index finger up in the air. It was a crypt, an undisguised one at that with carved angels on each side of its gates.

“Uh yeah, that’s what you think it is.”

“Sooo, we're in a graveyard? You took me to a graveyard and it's almost dark.” Pangi looked at him, his eyebrows raised in accusation, but it once again reflected the last rays of setting sun making it shine so prettily. “What are we doing here? Is this even allowed?!”

It was hard to keep himself from laughing- probably rude to do that in a graveyard anyway. Lukey’s eyes never strayed away, curved upwards in mirth as he raised both hands in innocence, “It wasn’t on purpose! I swear!” 

It would’ve been more believable if his shoulders weren’t shaking up and down in an attempt to stifle his laughter.

“I thought it was a park!” As if fate was playing a prank they then saw a placard on a nearby wall, “St Nicholas Rest Garden”. Mouth slightly agape, Lukey couldn’t even be bothered to defend himself and busted out laughing.

He was swiftly met with a soft punch to his shoulder. “This isn’t funny! C’mon we might be arrested or fined for trespassing.” There was genuine concern in his voice.

“Dude, it’s fine. I mean the gates were open, right, and we passed by people on the way here.”

“Lukey…” Pangi pinched the bridge of his nose and slightly looked up, clearly feigning distress.

“Yes, Pangi?”

“Just let’s go, please?”

“Fiiine.” He wasn’t opposed to leaving considering it was getting dark and the surprise factor was already hit. But, they haven’t even talked yet which would defeat the whole reason they went out to begin with. He watched the other boy bring out a phone and pull up the map app, clearly zooming in and making a pointed effort to show it was indeed a graveyard, before typing in his address.

Eventually, they got to walking, making sure to go down streets with lights and not attempt to go through mysterious passageways lined by trees as they did before.

Lukey let Pangi take the lead, trailing slightly behind to admire the wind blowing his hair and flannel about. It was a beautiful night and the stars haven’t even come out yet.

“About this morning…” Pangi’s voice broke their silent strides. “I- I didn’t mean- didn’t know… you were…”

It was a rare sight to see him stutter, an even rarer sight was to see him blush below the collars of his shirt- not that he’d ever been paying attention before. Usually Pangi carried himself in confidence, taking tit for tat in their banter, making sure he always retaliated or ended things with a laugh. So it was endearing for Lukey to see him trying to avoid eye contact and watching mannerisms unknown to him unfold.

Granted it was dark- multitasking trying to walk, not trip, and admiring his close friend in front of him was quite a task. Yet, he caught on to the slight fidgeting the other did at the hem of the flannel or how he took quick glances from his peripheral as if to check if Lukey ran away.

“I’ve already gotten over it,” Lukey said in a relaxed tone, putting his hands behind his head before flashing him a smile. “It was the morning and well… hard to stay calm when someone hot is pinning down on the carpet half-naked y’know?”

Silence pervaded them again, noticeably this time Pangi made an effort to pull the shirt collars closer to himself.

With lips curved upwards he continued, “And it’s been awhile since I did anything alone; Tertle’s visit, the subathon, and then you came. Which- no harm done by the way, it was good you came. It was getting lonely in there.”

No response, so he continued.

“And I’ll keep saying it, it would be nice if you moved in. Would solve both our issues, since we both have attachment issues right?” 

Pangi shook his head, still facing forward, “What about if you wanted to bring someone over?”

“Why would I wanna do that?”

“Well… you said you were lonely and didn’t have time alone…” There was apprehension in his voice, as if tip-toeing on glass shards. Sometimes Lukey wondered which of them was the more confident one, because in times like this he would say himself, to which Pangi’s loud retort would follow after.

“If…” He brought his hands to his pockets and caught up, matching his pace just enough for both of them to feel the warmth emanating from each other’s arms. “...we- uh- you moved in. I don’t think I would need to think about being alone.”

Pangi stopped at the intersection, almost having Lukey collide with him. He looked up before taking a deep breath and spoke with a shaky voice, “It’s gonna rain soon.” 

“Yeah.”

“We should probably run home.” 

“We could.”

They turned and faced each other, the glow of the streetlamp hovering over their heads as if a spotlight on a stage play- they, the leading actors. Both eyes wandered over the face of the opposite, lingering on small features they both enjoyed of the other. For Lukey, it was Pangi’s eyes and those eyebrows which could tell whatever the younger one was thinking. For Pangi, it was Lukey’s smile and how it indicated that another great idea would find its way out to keep them together.

There wasn’t even a hint of thunder before the rain fell in small batches, filling the air with an earthy coastal scent.

“It’s raining.”

“I think you’d be fine, you have my shirt.”

Hazel eyes questioned brown ones in a silent conversation; questioning, prodding, pushing for an answer. The rain continued to fall, making them both look like sopping wet cats as their hair soaked in the moisture, but gentle smiles formed on their faces.

“You mean it?”

“I’ve always meant it… with you.”

Hands found arms and shoulders to perch on as they stepped closer, feeling the breath of the other.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Lukey grinned and wiggled his eyebrows as an answer, promptly met by a light kick on the shin. “Fine… I was just worried I’d scare you off. You’re not exactly the confident type when it comes to feelings.”

“So, now we’re just making stuff up, huh?”

“If the shoe fits.”

There they stood under the cover of an umbrella of light as their lips touched; intimate flames surged in between grasping hands and gasps for air. Laugher broke through the downpour, as two souls found themselves entwined in ways beyond the characters they played. A memorable night in which Lukey 3000 and Pangi 100 of a different universe shared their hearts under a sky where the rain replaced the stars.

[spacetimeaccordionfolder]

okay this is such a tiny niche thought but re: the "arthur was meant to be sacrificed to lillith" theory and specifically him being a parallel to addison. i've never known whether it was intended but i've always been very fond of the fact that Arthur Lester and Andrew Larson have the same initials, as like, another narrative nod to their connection.

...you know who else has the initials AL, though...

if you take into consideration the fact that andrew is an alias, a mask, it could also be considered a way to signal that the parallel arthur sees between them is mostly his own invention/projection and not necessarily an accurate representation of reality. BUT... addison. is not. an alias.

anyway idk i need to sleep but i just thought that was interesting maybe. lillith sacrifice arthur theory good yes.

oh I love this

I've also liked that Larson's fake name had the same initials as Arthur's. A.L. And Arthur sees Larson as a reflection of himself, two sides of the same coin, cut from the same cloth, two men who killed their daughters. Andrew being a fake name does nicely pair with it being a false reflection and mirror and parallel. Arthur at his lowest point sees someone the slightest bit similar to him and composed of everything he hates about himself and the world in one single body and views killing Larson as a way to give Addison(Faroe) justice, revenge against a figure similar to ones who have hurt him and held power over him, and a way to finally end the man he's wanted dead for ten years.

But its a fake name. A mask. Addison is not. Wallace Larson is nothing like Arthur. Addison...

It adds a little something to the "Lesters were going to sacrifice Arthur" theory. Trusting sweet little Addison, the last of her siblings, alone in an empty house with a father driven to the Order by grief and wants, who was sacrificed so Larson would live and have power. And the lillith sacrifice theory works well with the "another pair of devotees asking things beyond them to grant their wishes" or however Kayne phrased it and "She spares you, Artie. What kindness!" (Don't need the transcript for that). Religious overbearing parents, (possibly mentally unwell), a young trusting child (to me you were the sun), and a god asked to grant a wish. The difference is Lillith (and her issues with her dad) instead of I don't know Yog Sathoth or someone.

[n0tetak3r]

So we can all agree Ragatha has the highest chance of abstracting right?

Okay now that I got your attention with that total ima go into detail and probably say what others have said but also give my thoughts and speculations because well why not

So with episode 5 being out people have been moving more so into the camp that either Ragatha or Gangle (or the more fun idea of it being Caine) that will abstract which is valid but I don’t think Gangle will due to some reasons that’ll parallel into why I believe Ragatha will (and I’m praying I’m proven wrong and that she doesn’t abstract)

So let’s go into my insane ramblings so in episode 3 kinger says something that we can imagine ties into the main reason one abstracts (other than breaking point) and that’s this

So with this it’s a big point into why I think Ragatha will be the one to abstract since we see in episode 5 that at the end everyone but her goes off into their little groups

��� Gangle and Zooble go off to do their own thing

• Kinger goes in same direction probably to do Kinger things

• Then Pomni and Jax go in a different direction to check something out

And where does this leave Ragatha? It leaves her all alone, believing they’re not wanted anywhere, we even see her look between the two groups before sighing looking what can be assumed to be dejected and then going in her own direction away from the two groups

Now this parallels Gangle and why I don’t think they will because we see that they feel wanted at least by Zooble and maybe Pomni as shown by her drawing that they made of what can be seen as who she thinks is her actual friends or at least people who they think actually care about them (image gotten by one of the posts glitch made after episode 4)

Then there’s episode 5 where we see a culmination of this with mostly the softball game but also the stargazing bit and given the stargazing whiles we don’t see the whole thing we do see that once again everyone is in their own groups but Ragatha is the only one who is walking between them all not being formally invited to join them and sit down (only sitting after she approaches kinger about fireflies) just unintentionally not being wanted. Then the softball game this has the most from Pomni dismissing Ragatha finally being negative by telling her to calm down to Ragatha self hatred on not being good enough at her own suggestion (even using the words “I should be better than that) which is most likely instilled from her mother. Then there’s when she finally got the chance to have another go it ended before she could even do anything and when she saw if Pomni was watching they were focused on talking to Jax

There’s also the fun thing that Ragathas’ evil clone is the only one we actually see die/melt and before you say yes I know Jax attacked his clone but we never actually saw the clone die it just cut

So with all of this stuff compiled it makes me think that in either episode 6 or 7 we may see Ragatha either abstract or get dangerously close to abstracting (that’s if there’s a way to stop it if caught early)

But yes anyway that like majority of my thoughts on this and why I think it may (unfortunately) be Ragatha who might abstract and I am happy to be proven wrong

Also sorry if my formatting isn’t the best, I always struggle with this stuff like putting thoughts into coherent words

[kbsd]

eugene sledge & robert leckie // "station to station"

it's too late to be hateful the European canon is here

-> WATCH ON GOOGLE DRIVE

(i've been thinking about this video for a long time, but this gifset by meg @ww2yaoi really inspired me to finish it. i also drew a lot of inspiration and themes from where to begin by ama @warriorgays. thank you both!)

some content warnings under the cut:

i wanted this video to be a really comprehensive dive into both leckie’s and sledge’s arcs, which meant including the particularly horrible parts of the war: namely the dehumanization of japanese people, the way the marines used that dehumanization to justify their actions, and how it eroded their own humanity in turn. as such, i included a lot of elements of the show that i wouldn’t normally put into a video and that i don’t often see in visual fanworks, so i wanted to content warn accordingly. this video includes (in addition to the usual canon-typical violence and discussion of ptsd):

canon-typical racism including racial slurs, desecration of corpses, animal cruelty, frontal nudity, and suicide

[starheirxero]

After revisiting your "came back wrong" comic, absolutely wonderful btw, I came to a rather haunting realization.

Because it became true. But instead of Bloodmoon, it's Eclipse. And that's both much worse(for the characters), and much better(for the narrative).

Because both him and Lunar went through the same, and in a way seem to parallel each other, though that's probably me overthinking.

Both of them died. Both of them were blown to smithereens. Both of them came back after several months. Both found themselves in a body not their own. We've seen what they look like in every other universe.

Both of them came back wrong.

Lunar came back numb, quieter than before, with all their energy being a play. He came back running from unknown danger. They died a normal animatronic, and came back being more.

Eclipse is the opposite. He came back louder, erratic, full of madness. Where Lunar is running from unknown danger, he is sprinting towards it, not realizing the consequences until it's to late. Not to forget the star. Eclipse died being somewhat of a god, and came back as nothing more than a plaything, a puppet on a string.

In a twist of fate, they can relate best to each other now, and that might be the worst part for both of them.

Because what is there to do? Even though they understand, even though, one day, they might glance at each other and wonder "Do you feel the same?", they will never be able to confide in each other. Their relationship is beyond repair, and for good reason. Eclipse hurt Lunar, used and ab*sed him, and then blew him up.

This also opens up so much emotional baggage. What will Lunar think? Will he wonder "Do you regret what you did now, knowing how it felt?" Will a part of him feel the smallest bit of satisfaction? Will they ever be able to look at him at all, or will they forever hide away?

What about Eclipse? Will he feel guilty? He seems aware of the damage he has caused the celestial twins, even telling Ruin that he deserves what's coming for him, but he still showed no remorse when he talked to them.

I'm sorry this got so long, I am incredibly emotional about this right now, and I can't even begin to describe, how this makes me feel-

ANON OH MY GHOD /POS

DID YOU KNOW YOU HAVE THE BIGGEST FUCJING BRAIN EVER. DID YOU KNOW YOU'VE CONNECTED THE MOST PERFECT DOTS KNOWN TO MAN. HOLY SHIT.

LUNAR CAME BACK AS MORE AND ECLIPSE CAME BACK AS LESS BUT BOTH CAME BACK WRONG AAIAUAUAYAGAGGGHHHHHH

[rapidhighway]

K I've been thinking about this for like a week now. Ignoring any immortal headcanons if you have them. Knuckles knows he's not going to be able to guard the Master Emerald forever and that probably troubles him, but, if he was dying do you think he'd ask Sonic to guard it? He's the person with a unique connection to Chaos and the Chaos Emeralds and he's basically chosen one the most specialest guy, and one of the few people Knuckles could trust with that duty.

Of course I think Sonic would say no. I think he'd never be able to do that and he wouldn't want to.

[silkpages]

if i had a nickel for each otp i have that's destined not to be together because ultimately their stories are not about a happy romance but rather of coming-of-age/maturity and deep mutual affection that can't be destroyed even by the bittersweetness of the narrative and the recognition of the barriers that stop them from being together, then i'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

[thirdtimed]

its so crazy how 3L is literally not that serious. but It Can Be. if you use your beautiful mind

[benevolenterrancy]

hi! I recently came across your tgcf fics, and I wanted to say you’re a phenomenal creator. the recovery series fic and the gloves fic and just all of them. thank you for your content and great attention to detail.

do you have any thoughts/hcs on FXMQ and Xie Lian you’d be willing to share? within the original story or the universes of your fics!

Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying them! (ﾉ*^▽^*)ﾉ.｡:*☆

hmm, random thoughts about the FXMQ... a silly headcanon: Feng Xin has very much been hoisted by his own petard by heckling Mu Qing! That is to say, he'll harass Mu Qing relentlessly about something stupid only to be confronted with a similar situation and realise that there's absolutely NO way he can act in anyway similar to Mu Qing or he'll never hear the end of it.

(For example, he has tolerated some truly atrocious divine statues in the past because he's heckled Mu Qing so much about how picky he is with his divine statues that there's no WAY he can say ANYTHING without seeing that smug bastard's face in his head so he just has to bite his tongue and tolerate some unspeakably ugly statues.)

Mu Qing doesn't generally suffer from similar overthinking (he'll just prepare to kick FX's ass if he dares to say anything about it) except for things more directly related to himself. I think he genuinely finds sewing/embroidery/etc rather relaxing work but he'd rather die than have anyone ever see him do it because he's made such a big deal about not doing that sort of "servant" work anymore.

(He actually really enjoyed stitching Ruoye back together because it gave him the perfect excuse -- he's returning a favour!! and Xie Lian is hopeless!! of course he had to!! -- and he secretly considered using white thread to embroider some invisible little designs just because he doesn't quite want to stop... only he knew he'd get caught if he messed with Xie Lian's spiritual device like that and gave up the idea)

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

[minweber]

Belisarius Cawl, hiding for his life, his ass kicked, ship crashing, friends in mortal peril: I am such a smart boy, he-he-he =)

[autumnoficarus]

i can't stop listening to the 'purpose is glorious' track from this season's ost and thinking about how lovely the title and its meaning are. it's just such an amazing underlying theme in this show, and - while i do have criticisms about some of the choices made for the series finale - i really do feel the writers wholeheartedly delivered in sending that message home. for me personally, loki's ending is so gratifying and a large part of that is solely from viewing their arc's conclusion with the perspective of this theme in mind. to have spent years watching this character i hold very dear to my heart struggle to find belonging, to feel as though they matter and there is reason in their existence, finally get a chance to show - and recognize - their worth was so, so rewarding. and honestly, i think the message behind the phrasing of 'purpose is glorious' is all the more meaningful because of how loki's arc finished. yes, the outcome was bittersweet; yes, we're left knowing loki didn't get the happiness they undeniably earned after everything they'd gone through. it smarts something fierce to know their journey up until they deviated from their timeline and became a variant, as well as seen their eventual intended fate. the ache is only worsened after witnessing everything that happens within the TVA and the entirety of loki's character growth leading up to a redefining moment where they willingly choose to undergo a nightmarish amount of time in the endeavor to do the right thing. of course we want them to emerge victorious when they've struggled for so long, but that's not the point. loki's final moments are them forfeiting their right to a happy ending to preserve the stories of others because all stories matter and should inherently reserve the free will to be written; as sylvie says, loki makes their choice so their loved ones and life across the multiverse still have a chance to belong somewhere and embrace their place in the world. the take away is that even burden can be glorious. even with all the hardships of life - all the inevitable heartache, disappointment, and grief we encounter just by being alive - we have meaning in our existence. there is meaning in the trials we face, and the suffering we endure in order to overcome them. our pain gives us purpose; it gives us the ability to love, to grow from and for each other, and choose to sacrifice our happiness for the benefit of another. loki's purpose was forged in the bonds of those they met in their time at the TVA and the sense of value they gained from their companionship. their sacrifice perfectly conveys how the human capacity to love is one of cosmic greatness, which can ultimately surpass our instinctual desire to preserve one's self. we can move immovable mountains and challenge insurmountable adversity in behalf of the ones we love and their welfare. if that isn't an act deserving of glory, I don't know what is.

tldr; loki's purpose is the friends they made along the way = as the saying goes, 'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'. or: our own lives have purpose because of the connections we share with others, even when we are met with great loss.

[boghags]

I've nothing left, I gave you all

[cherrymoonvol6]

.

[infizero]

every time i so much as think about that scene where light looks at porn magazines while scowling i go into hysterics its genuinely the funniest thing i've ever seen