#spawn rambles

[spawn1644]

Boy Next World

I finished this after stopping-starting-stopping it like a month or two ago 🫣 please don't blame past me! The first three episodes are low-key slow until they start throwing straight grenades at the plot and your psyche.

Spoilers and thoughts below the cut!

So as I said, I spent the first few episodes struggling to get invested, but then I hit episode four and marathoned the rest in a single night D: (rip my sleep schedule).

This one had me live-blogging the entire show to a friend through text--I swear I sent like fifteen multi-paragraph messages. I'm tempted to track an ENG trans of the book down and read it because I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything. Tbh, I need to watch the special episode!!! but I can't find it anywhere yet!! Gah.

I don't get into the pairing/rp shipping and whatnot, let the men do as they please with whom they please, etc. But I do think it lowkey shows either how good of actors these two are OR how comfy they are with each other to uhhh go like that on camera in a room full of people filming you. And then look each other in the eyes and eat lunch together and whatnot five minutes later.

But I digress. The show was super cool and fun; I loved the alternate dimension stuff, and I love how the show fucked with the audience's head by pulling the rug out from under you like four separate times. I was fully convinced it was a sci-fi show and then Cir said he just "dreamed" up their whole relationship and stalked Phu for years, and I was like, "oh, so this is just psychological horror??" Which I was still into, and I started rationalizing/explaining to myself just how Cir would have gotten to be that...uh. mentally unwell, and everything the show did for the next episode or so really helped me flesh all of those thoughts out. And then immediately said HA! no it's sci fi, but we're doing psychological warfare to you :D

I loved all of it and I want to rewatch it with someone and come up with a million different universes and explanations for dark!Cir and what the hell that dimension even is, and why dark!Cir seems to be stuck there?? and what he meant by "hopefully this one will have a happy ending" hello???

The NC (I really need someone to explain to me what that stands for btw, I just picked it up from online discussions and whatnot) scenes were uhhhh distressing to watch as I sat with a hilariously ugly facemask on and caught my own reflection in the laptop screen when it got too dark T-T lmao. I had to pause the show and go clean off my face and mentally prepare myself because otherwise I was feeling WAY too self conscious to watch that. Why? IDK don't come at me. They were really good scenes!

The mom was a psycho, and I'm excited for the special episode bc I really hope Ozone has an actual PLAN for dealing with her, bc otherwise I will be deeply unimpressed with the ending and the idea that there's literally no other solution but to trade one son for another and subject SOMEONE to horrific abuse and control. How did she never get arrested for child abuse, ffs?

Anyway. My favorite part, tbh, is Jin as a whole but also the cute relationship building he's got going on with Wim. The fact that he can just read minds, you know, like it's hard? was incredible. His character was SO much fun and I want like 100 fics exploring him as a character STAT. He was such a little shit and having SO much fun and made me giggle and kick my feet like a kid when he was teasing Wim.

Anyway. 9/10 for me, pending the special episode. :D

[klauw22]

maybe its just me but tfone elita-1 kinda reminds me of a mantis. it hit me bcs of her wider helm that looks like a mantis head, wider at the top-middle and then goes into a narrow point at the bottom. and her little already bug looking antennas???

long limbs and thin build (at least in tfone bcs of how the bots are stylized for animation), small but packs a punch, feminine and dangerous. if youre not convinced look at the comparison between an orchid mantis and elita.

beastformers elita would be a mantis i think i must zap her with my bug beam

[bluerosefox]

Invites

"OMA, kill meeeee" Ellie, aka Wrath complained as she allowed her head to 'thunk' on the cafeteria table in the Watchtower she phased into in order to sit in next to a boy dressed in red, yellow, and green.

"Aren't you already halfway there?" Came Robin's response as he took a drink of his water, eyeing his teammate with a raised eyebrow, though it was difficult to tell with his mask in place.

"OMA?" Asked Superboy on the other side of the boy.

"Shush you." She said towards Robin before answering Superboy "Oh my Ancients, it's like OMG but like for us ghosties."

"Tt" "Oh!" Came both their responses.

"So..." began Superboy after a few minutes of silence between them as he looked at Ellie like a confused puppy "Why?"

Ellie groaned and just stayed slumped on the table as she said "Da's dumb Observants council is hosting another dumb ball to try to get him or me hitched again, and like always I'm forced to attend because I'm Da's heir. We both hate it with a passion, most are just stuck up, power hungry, social climbers trying to get into our pants for the royal titles... Espcially if they become our Forevermores."

"Tt, why not just get rid of them? Or simply have your Father dismiss the ball." Robin said, his eye twitching in annoyance just at the thought of it. A ball sounded even more annoying than the gala parties he is made to go to.

"Sounds stressful... Also Forevermores?" Superboy asked, he was always curious of Ellie and her ghost culture but never knew what could be asked or not, he had been warned to never ask how a ghost died after all and that question is normally asked in every ghost hunter video on the internet.

"Forevermores is our term for the ONE. The one and only we will ever be with. Till our final end takes us we are always to be with them only. We are core creatures and bonding on that level is like sacred, we don't rush into bonding like that though. But everyone in the Realms hopes to be either become mine or Da's. And the ball is their best chance at meeting us on neutral grounds." Ellie explained as best as she could for Jon, it was hard trying to explain the type of level a Forevermore was "And to answer you Robin, Da can't. The Observants, despite how annoying they can get with their dumb demands, are part of the system council for the Realms, they're sadly needed to keep things in check hence their name. Da and his friends are still trying to find a loophole to get rid of them though. They were only created when they put Tyrant King to sleep and they still sadly have some backings from other powerful ghosts in the Realms, even an Ancient or two and in order to fully dismiss them we need all Ancients on board. And the ball keeps a lot of ghosts, especially the more powerful ones, errr I guess happy? Most just use it to gossip on neutral grounds, others just like to dance, network, or other junk like that. Basically, when it's not about them trying to get mine or Da's hand in ghost marriage, it's fun so Da can't dismiss it, it'll ruffle to many feathers."

"Wow..." "Tt." Were the response from her teammates.

"Yeah. Da really isn't happy because someone suggested inviting powerful people from a few Mortal Realms this time. Somehow it got approved. So... here." She said as she reached into her own chest, phasing her hand in, and pulled out two green envelopes and placed them on the table in front of them. Both boys stared in surprise to see their names written in dark purple ink and the stylized DP on it.

"CW let me invite you guys personally. Everyone else should be getting theirs in about a few minutes complete with a blaze of green fire and spooky vibes." Ellie said with a strained smile, both happy to invite them but also dreading the questions she'll no doubt have to answer once the invites were sent.

[rivereverie]

I’ve just been thinking about how important Astarion’s hands are to his identity. I feel like the brainrot is taking over that I’m trying to analyze this, but hear me out. It's more my rambling thoughts than analysis.

All of Astarion’s practical skills are intimately tied to his hands. Finesse. Dexterity. He tosses daggers, picks pockets, picks locks, disarms traps. Even when it comes to his hobby of sewing and embroidery, that’s all about hands and fingers too. He rolls coins along his knuckles to show off. Astarion takes pride in what his hands are capable of.

His hands are also used against others. A way to hold someone back. Hold someone down. To have them in his hands. Touch is a power of his, practiced for decades, to pleasure and manipulate others. Wrapping them around his finger. In the palm of his hand. Hands are what we use to push someone back. To grab the collar of a shirt. To hold a dagger. They are tools of control. 

We get two lines about him being loath to “break a nail”, and as I once spoke about in an analysis post on Astarion’s expression of vanity, this is clearly an example of his mask, distracting from vulnerability. It’s not a stretch to read into these lines about his nails as alluding to his time in the crypt. Clawing in desperation at a coffin lid for the better part of a year would do much more than break nails. That year wore away so much of his identity, as it did his hands. It was loss and helplessness.

Hands can also be a symbol of violation. A hand being forced. Grabbing. Prodding. Taking. Hurting. Claws scraping. Curled fists. A bruising grip. The stuff of his worst memories and nightmares. Even gentle, loving touch does not feel safe or enjoyable to Astarion for a long time. He's used to hands only ever taking. His own included.

Hands are so often used as imagery for autonomy, responsibility, and guilt. Blood is on our hands specifically because they are considered instruments of will. It's interesting that Astarion’s story is all about these themes, too. In the end, the hands that were forced to drag so many souls into Cazador's grasp were the same ones that drove a dagger through the vampire's heart.

Hands are also meant to reach out. To hold on. To carry a torch to light the way. To caress. To link fingers with the hand of another. To create and build. To express and feel. Hands (both his and those of others) have the same capacity for gentleness, giving, and connection as they do cruelty, and that's something Astarion finally believes, by the end.

And his hands will never be forced again.

- (The dialogue screenshot above is from 'A Dream Of Silence' by abigailmoment. I'm just using it illustratively)

[alexander-norkat]

Untethered

[foldingfittedsheets]

I’m trying to complete the mastery challenges in Assassins Creed Valhalla. I have gold in literally every challenge except the one where you must exclusively aerially assassinate the targets and the most vexing part is that I’d have beaten it several times if the fucking game mechanics worked.

So for instance if I put two enemies to sleep but they’re too close to each other I cannot assassinate either of them. And if for instance one enemy is asleep and another is standing over the prone body I just need Eivor to target the one who’s not unconscious but this is asking too much and twice I attacked only for the alert enemy to move and for Eivor to launch herself at the sleeping enemy, blowing my cover.

Which is how I came to be quietly hissing at my TV at 10pm saying “Eivor you absolute doorknob,” trying to get her to target the right fucking man.

[flaskuwu]

A puppet Zelda fight could have been cool…

[kittenintheden]

spawn

Dalyria is brilliant and bold. Then she is a cadaver.

Aurelia is thoughtful and kind. Then she is worthless.

Violet is cunning and vicious. Then she is weak.

Yousen is faithful and inventive. Then he is faithless.

Petras is simple and safe. Then he is pathetic.

Leon is ambitious and protective. Then he is brutal.

Astarion is covetous and passionate. Then he is cruel.

Their sire shredded them raw, used their bodies, crushed their souls to dust.

They are all so, so, so very alone.

But they don’t have to be.

Not anymore.

***

I am having a lot of really big vampire sibling feels today okay don't look at me

[adastra121]

I thought of something. So we know that Vere has a longer lifespan than the average human, right?

A snapshot several decades later — the larger part of a century, really — Vere looks pretty much the same as he did the day you met. Maybe he’s wearing his hair differently nowadays, faint crow’s feet and smile lines finally beginning to show on his face but aside from that, he is mostly unchanged in appearance. He walks through the halls of a place he’s called home for…a long time now. There’s the broken lute neither of you ever got around to throwing out from when you first tried your hand at replicating the music of his favourite Hightown lutist. Cupboards and drawers filled with his art supplies, your gloves, rolls of spare linen he’s swiped from the Lowtown clinic ages ago. The walls are adorned with his best drawings — many of them are safely kept in his sketchbooks, but there are many he’s proud enough to display in the open. Several of them are portraits of you over the years. He can’t find it in himself to take them down yet. There are so many other memories, relics of the love the two of you have shared over the years strewn throughout your home.

He makes his way to the kitchen where his fruit oolong tea has been cooling on the counter and begins to whip up a new monstrosity of a meal. His neck and chest are bare from the collar and harness that has been forcibly imposed onto him a century ago. Actually, only one thing adorns his neck now — a necklace fashioned from the ribbon in your handfasting ceremony. You made it into a necklace for your first anniversary together. He hasn’t taken it off all this time. Still fiddles with it when deep in thought, a habit that carried over from his years in chains.

Sometimes he finds it deeply unjust that he’s lived more years in chains than he’s lived with you — his anger and bloodlust briefly soothed with the knowledge that eventually…the years he’s spent in hell will be surpassed by the number of years he’s spent loving you.

[candycatfalls]

Sorry for slacking on my shifts at the old man toxic yaoi factory gang. In somehwat related news, I have 4 kittens now

[rika-mmendmethings]

New Rafayel myth: Lemurian Sea God

...

Touching grass is not enough.

I NEED TO DIVE IN THE FCKING SEA 😩

I NEED TO GET IN THE WATAHHHHHH 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩

I'm getting such a typical Chinese nose bleed rn

Wishing everyone who's pulling for this myth best of luck 🫂🤞🏻🍀💕

[bastianfruit]

I am literally obsessed with them

[jackattack20writes]

Also as a more serious post I keep seeing claims that Gquuuuuux is telling a story about Gundam or is doing “uc slop” or sudden rebuild bullshit in the last five eps but no it’s not. It’s telling a story about two possibly three teenagers proving that they have the right to decide their own destinies and not be bound by what the older generations have decided for them. It’s just that it’s achieving that by using the most iconic parts of Gundam to represent the older generations.

The UC “bullshit” is the culmination of the shows thesis about how the newer generations need to be left free to chart their own paths. Nyaan and Machu represent two ways in which younger people live with this. Nyaan aimlessly floats through life without convictions or passion for what she’s doing, her only wants restricted to her needs while she pines for what she truly wants but is unwilling to grab it until her hand is forced, and Machu is raging against the bonds holding her with no regards to what happens if she breaks free, she just knows she needs to be free becuase that’s worth whatever she’ll lose in the process. And then if I’m right about Shuji (and even if I’m not the earlier stuff with the red Gundam still fits) he’s the total loss of identity outside of the older generations wants and needs he no longer has his own id or ego he’s subsumed by the older generation and mirrors them (like those kids whose parents never made it in sports or whatever but they “totally could’ve” so the kids are forced to push themselves to the brink no matter what they actually want to enable their parents need to vicariously live through them.)

The fight against RX-78 isn’t just them fighting to prove their universe’s inherent right to exist but also the younger generations right to chart their own paths. This is why Challia and Kycilia’s treatment of Nyaan and Machu are so contrasting, Kycilia impose her own values and beliefs on Nyaan and Nyaan fights against them, she used the gun she was given to protect her self to protect someone else finally choosing what she wants rather than floating along. While Challia gave Machu the freedom to do what she felt was necessary and her gun was used to free herself and the Gquuuuuux to not only achieve what they wanted but to reach their full potential with the omega psycommu. It’s the same reason Challia doesn’t want to kill Xavier. he let Xavier go the way he wanted to and do what he felt was necessary and even though they’ve ended up on opposite sides he doesn’t want to take that freedom away from him in death. Whereas Kycilia was fully willing to kill Nyaan as soon as she didn’t align with her beliefs. And I think this is partly why Challia was chosen and written the way he is. He’s not an icon of Gundam like Char, Lalah, Kycilia, Amuro or even the titans. He’s of the og series but isn’t bound by it, it’s why he can straddle the line of being of the older generation but not trying to bind the newer generation to what they decide and be the only one willing to let them have the freedom they deserve.

The RX-78’s appearance is the manifestation and climax of this, the gquuuuuux timeline isn’t doing what it’s supposed to so it must be destroyed. This isn’t a show about Gundam, its not a meta story about Gundam needing to move past the UC timeline, it’s a show using the most iconic example of the old generation that Gundam will ever have to be the final boss in Nyaan and Machu’s journey to prove that they have a right to decide their own destinies. It’s why Beyond the Time works so well at the end of ep 11, it’s not only a callback but a call to arms for Nyaan and Machu to change their destiny and futures and share the happiness that’ll come from being finally, truly free.

[tsams-and-co-memes]

Can't wait for the day when we find out Bloodmoon exists in the fem dimension, and that she's a stubborn, argumentative little gremlin who's terrified of turkeys and lives in fear of Chico

[doubletroubletag]

i got almost all the next month's updates sketched! i'm not doing the last one simply because i am feeling the burn out of composing these pages. (each have at least 6 pages, a good amount have the max 12!)

that said, these are all just sketched. i want to do it in this order: backgrounds -> lineart -> transcript. i got other projects i need to work on (winning hat and NightFell) so I can't really guarantee when Tag will start to update again.

[lyss-butterscotch]

Jesus christ what is this shop