#thoughts from the abyss

[ballroomeddie]

buck and eddie watch midsommar (2019) together. eddie shouldn’t be surprised when buck looks at him, head tilted, and asks, "do they actually do that?". he really shouldn’t be. asking unexpected questions is part of buck’s charm, it’s what he does. yet, eddie looks at him like this -> 🤨 as he tries to put together who "they" are and what "that" is. his face is screwed up as it dawns on him that "they" are swedes and that the "that" in question is whatever the fuck's going on in midsommar (2019). he’s on the verge of annoyance. because each question seems to spawn another. eddie’s next conundrum is why buck, the walking snapple bottle cap, would ask him about swedish traditions. esoteric trivia is buck’s thing, after all.

eddie’s beyond annoyed when he puts two and two together. frankly, he finds it rude that buck would put him through these mind games. if he were asked, he would say that he tries to cut down on the snark. that any spite in his tone is entirely accidental. he would be lying. his voice is dripping with sarcasm and he relishes every word, ‘’i dunno, buck. do the pennsylvania dutch actually speak dutch?’’. buck will admit that he has his himbo moments, but he’s not dumb. he knows a jab when he hears one. ‘’nope.’’ buck punctuates the response with a sip of beer, "actually :) they speak german.🖕😇’’

[consultingfujoshi]

some thoughts wrt the two established "romances" in severance so far (burt/irving and helly/mark) inspired by @figmentof who pointed out how irving had to find out mark and helly kissed from the corporate video in s2 e1 and how he must have felt seeing his co-workers' love affair like portrayed like that, and how it ties into the queer narrative at play here which uses workplace dynamics and policies as very clear analogues for real-life prejudice against queer couples. I mean, just look at this:

it's not just documented, but celebrated. used as propaganda for how the conditions on the severance floor have improved. proof that the severed workers are happy. and how even though he is unaware of the sociopolitical meaning of all this, lumon is very not-subtly telling him that what he had with burt is inherently lower and less valuable than this.

irving doesn't even know homophobia exists and yet he is still affected by it, it still seeps into every corner of the way his and burt's romance progresses. burt is positioned as an unacceptable love interest from the jump. irv is actively discouraged at every turn from pursuing it. their friendship is viewed with disgust and apprehension from their coworkers. burt working in a different department that's hated by MDR. dylan himself not being homophobic in the sense he opposes their relationship because they're both men but his attempts to keep them apart still has a parallel sort of prejudice behind it and still ultimately has the same effect as if it WERE driven by homophobia. irving is made to feel perverse for wanting contact with burt. he's told this is for his own good.

and then, just as they manage to overcome that immediate resistance from their peers and escape to a place where they can explore this blossoming romance on their own terms, burt retires. for all it matters to irv, he's dead. and then irving is given the option to live the rest of his life with grief that will never heal, or kill himself too, because there is no reality where they get to be together. that's just the way things are. of course they wouldn't get to be together. he was unreasonable and childish for ever hoping that could happen. this is just the way it goes for innies. he's told to get ahold of himself and not make a scene.

but the thing is, the standards are not the same for all. a heterosexual romance gets upheld as the shining example of success and fulfilment for the severed employees, whilst a homosexual romance is ridiculed and invalidated, and written off as something that was simply never meant to be. and even more importantly to irving, a heterosexual romance is APPROVED OF by lumon, and by extension, by kier. irv held back from allowing himself to even call his and burt's relationship a romance, because his god had told him it was wrong, he followed the handbook, thinking this was what kier wanted, and then finding out after suffering the worst heartbreak imaginable because of it, that this WASN'T EVEN TRUE. it's simply just that someone like HIM doesn't get to have something like this. his love is not the kind of love god wants. he does not approve of irv's love. cynical and manipulative though that approval may be (even within the context of the corporate video, the helly/mark romance is only being celebrated to further the narrative that lumon care for their workers, but the point still remains that it was THEIR romance specifically used to suit this end), when your entire life has been in pursuit of that approval, it must be devastating to learn it was never on the cards for you.

he and burt even used the fact kier met and fell in love with his wife in the same circumstances as them to justify this to each other - and they were RIGHT, god does approve of falling in love with your coworkers - this simply just doesn't apply to them specifically. and if irving needed any more proof that he no longer has a place at lumon, that he's better off not existing at all than existing with this pain that cannot be remedied, pain that won't even be acknowledged for what it is, a symptom of a sickness which plagues the entire severance system, pain that he is simply expected to choke down and get over - this is that proof.

and that's the POINT. they're TELLING us that this is unjust, and there's a double standard. they're using the ways the innies experience romance and the difference in lumon's reaction (lumon being the collective of all the management we've seen, lumon as a singular entity) to burt/irving vs helly/mark to comment on how queer people are not afforded the same level of respect or validation IN REAL LIFE, for their attachments, their love, their pain, their suffering. it is NOT just incidental that irving's romance is with a man. it would not WORK if his love interest was a woman. the POINT is that they are both men and how that puts them at a disadvantage, even if they aren't aware of the prejudices of the outside world, even if they don't TECHNICALLY apply on the severance floor, there are very clear analogues which still end up oppressing them in equivalent ways that they would be suffering if this were a normal workplace in the outside world.

it genuinely sickens me to my stomach that even in a world so divorced from reality and the sensibilities of regular society, a queer couple is still made to suffer and feel inferior in a way that perfectly mirrors their real-life counterparts. how they will never, EVER be allowed to exist in a world where their love could thrive freely and uninhibited - they never get to taste the joy our world has to offer people like them, but they are still somehow subjected to all the pain it has to offer them regardless. it's such horrifically devastating writing. it makes my skin crawl. I can't stop thinking about it

[crowlyne]

Action RPG AU where SY is the final boss in Endless Abyss, and Binghe has to defeat him to get Xin Mo (how he defeats him, you decide)

[star-scroll]

Ectoberhaunt Day 13

Isekai: Old Hero New World

[front-facing-pokemon]

[doppelneer]

Been a bit... but updated Thousand Eyes and Golden Eyes refs!

If you don't know what I mean by those names points at the creature that's usually lurking in the distance in treasure reef (even though they took a vacation to sanctuary recently.)

Going to include some transcripts of some of the more noteworthy notes... just in case if it's hard to read.

Thousand Eyes - The Leviathan

Free, but thorough scars run deep. Then arose, a forgotten dream with consequences unforseen.

Crew, boat, and spirit height for size comparison

Large back fin gone :(

What remains of cut off fins

Scales - Has occasional patchy missing scales. They are not always covered in micro darkness but go through occasional build up and mass shedding

22 out of the 51 eyes on their face is missing

With pupils - These eyes are inspired by a screenshot of a cave in treasure reef for an Abyss spirit related daily quest. The cave looks like a subliminal eye to me and thought it would be a cool detail to add.

Wing parts were severed but limbs remain

Gained more armor-like back scales

Mandible horns move when jaws open

Golden Eyes - The Leviathan

Inquisitive, they watched the tiny beings it took interest in from a far, and sparked a distant dream. One day, an interloper wrought havoc on the beings and The Regal Observer for once did not stand idle. The opponent fell, however, The Beholder became ill and regrettably the beings finally perceived it in a time of weakness. Contained the once uncontainable. Inconsiderations prominent. Unrequited trust betrayed.

Crew, boat, and spirit height for size comparison

Large dorsal fin

Mineral deposits gather and naturally form around specific parts of the body. Used for protection or display. Closest to eels but is made of a similar rock material that the masks that form on elder manta and whales are made out of. Also similar to crabs "shells" and even sky folk masks to some extent.

4 sets of larger fins - small collection of fins similar to the sanctuary elder manta

Scales - has very faint gold splotches that can't be seen from a distance

Blue coloration inspired by night birds and certain accessories (points at flight)

Less patterns on underside

Subliminal eye patterns - [additional art note] friendly reminder to myself that simplification is my friend and to do it when I feel like I need to (especially with pattern details.)

51 eyes (on face)

12 limbs, 8 fins, 36 small fins, 1 dorsal fin.

Thousand & Golden Eyes Comparisons sheet

Sketch sheet showing how both would stand on land

Golden eyes using secondary wings and hind legs to stand on land vs using primary wings & hind legs

Golden never uses all limbs at once

Meanwhile, Thousand eyes uses all limbs on the ground.

The screenshot I redrew as an eye mentioned in the Thousand Eyes ref

Just for a better veiw.

BONUS THEM AS CATSSSSS!!! HEHEHE!!!

I also have a bunch of meme-y stuff I might share in the future but for now that's it from me. :]

[abyss1o1]

Genuinely how am I supposed to be normal about solarflare. How can they have a fight that can last for hours and then speak words of affirmation to each other.

[vivlily]

Harmonie looks like a magical girl who has been doing magical girl things for quite a while. Who then gets upset that a newbie is stepping on her scene, except she has to keep up the image of being a goodytwo shoes so she begrudgingly befriends the newer magical girl, keeping up the veneer of a someone who's super excited the newbies here.

And eureka is there

Eventually, she gets her own evil transformation due to her building up a ton of inner resentment and gets to the point where she defeats the newbie. But before she can actually finish the newbie off, she realizes that she just can't bring herself to do it. Causing her to repurpose the evil transformation and fight alongside the newbie wholeheartedly.

Nothing will ever end up actually confirmed by the creators, but the fanbase would create a lot of fanfiction and fanworks. And animators would somehow sneak in a suspicious amount of lilies, while the voice actors are very obvious about what they think on the matter.

and also eureka is there

[carlottastudios]

CarlottaStudios's Unhinged Kaeya Lore Thoughts Post

Link to read the Google Doc:

AT LAST!!! TUMBLR KAEYA NATION, BEHOLD, THE NONSENSE THAT HAS BEEN OCCUPYING MY KAEYA-DEDICATED BRAINPAN FOR MONTHS!

Quick disclaimer/warning: This document is LONG, it's almost 50 pages, so please don't feel pressured to read the whole thing, especially not in one shot. Also, I have included some disclaimers at both the beginning and end, including the fact that I am not an expert in any of the stuff I've written about in this document and if I have made any mistakes, I apologize, feel free to offer corrections, so long as we're all nice to each other. That said, I don't plan on adding substantially more to this document (ex: a new section) as this isn't and was never meant to be The Kaeya Lore Fodder Post of all time. This is just me taking my lore/theory-adjacent thoughts on Kaeya and yeeting them into the void to see if anyone else is interested.

Speaking of interested persons, a few people have expressed interest in this and even asked me to tag them, which is INCREDIBLY flattering and touching (seriously, thank you so much), so I'm tagging them here: @thenerdhoard @eternal-dokja @prophecyflame @mosamosa3pakosh

I plan on eventually making a mindmap to go along with this word document, but that will be for another day because this was already quite a big project to undertake and I need some rest. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy!

[ballroomeddie]

.

[ambagel]

There are so many things I love about the new Obey Me event but THIS THISSSS

FHSJFNKSKFJKAKF

The extra three HDJAJFNAJ LOOK AT HIM HHHHHHHHHH

He wants us to rely on him??? 🤧😭🤸‍♀️

DENIAL DENIAL DENIAL

He clearly cares??? So like??? Are we opening some possibilities here? 🧐 PLEASE???

AND LOOK

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SCREAMING LOOK AT HER

She's so sweet I love her so mUCH

Can

Can we be best friends thirteen

Please

I'll do anything please

[heftyabyssofsweets]

Do you see Ifa as a possible competitor against Zhongli and Neuvillette? Perhaps Ororon is his chubby one.

I don't really know if Neuvilette would see Ifa as a rival, due to his rivalry with Zhongli being due to the rivalry between dragons and archons... probably more something like a confidant. Ifa probably has to deal with a lot of little saurians not eating, or not eating all their food, and stuff like that. He probably knows all the strategies for getting saurians to eat more.

Using that knowledge and testing those strategies on Ororon, he's probably gained a lot of insight on how to get people to eat, and eat a lot.

So, Neuvilette has probably come to rely on Ifa for feeder tips! It's been greatly helpful for someone who can be as stubborn as Wriothesley... You know how he can be, he's pretty gluttonous, but can be kinda stubborn about accepting food from people sometimes. It's only thanks to Ifa that Neuvilette can get past that as well as he can.

[yui-hibari]

So...

While reading SVSSS it was easy to (mostly) ignore Shen Yuan's behaviour, since he has an excuse for everything. But once I took a couple of steps back, all I could think was Hey, what the fuck

[doppelneer]

I'm working on notes, but I feel like this drawing looks nice on its own, so here ✨️

Idk what possesses me when I do pen and ink shading fr, but whatever it is, it's 🔥

[kaeyachi]

firm believer that if signora found kaeya as a child (and with the HC/theory that he looks like rostam) she would have claimed him as her son (and she would have somewhat healed mentally and emotionally too)

[valorxdrive]

He doesn't like to reflect on it much at all. That fated day at Hollow Bastion, where it was emotionally charged and a battle to the bitter end. Seeing just how far his best friend spiraled, how he wanted to hold out hope amidst every fear coming to reality. How it led to a point where they've honestly donned killing blows against each other.

Thinking of that reality drew a shudder directly up his spine. Even now, it was an imagine, one of stricken shock and finally those ends of Riku, the real Riku shining through once a mortal blow found itself struck with the keyblade. It was a horror that could never truly be put into words. Even if a miracle shone itself with him being maintained at that door of unquantifiable power.

The day Sora had to kill his best friend, even if it was Ansem's puppet strings goading on that dark tenacity.