#if season 2 doesn't come out this year i might die

[whoishotteranimepolls]

My observations after running this blog for a month

I have observed trends relating to multiple fandoms and how they behave/interact with my polls here's some examples. I hope someone finds this entertaining as I did. Because I do read most of the comments and tags

Black Butler, Jujutsu Kaisen and Dorohedoro. You guys are the most insane, feral, unhinged and I have debated marking my post as mature content simply because I knew what you will put in your tags and comment. I worry about you people sometimes Because I do read what you put in those comments and tags and now I know what you will allow these characters to do to you and what you want to do to them. (This also applies certain specific characters from other fandoms) But you three. My little unhinged trio. It's just fandom wide. Doesn't matter the character. You will go crazy. It's entertaining to watch. Don't get me wrong but I hope everyone is doing okay

One piece You guys request a lot and show up. You guys also like meme and cursed polls. Yes they are funny most of the time and you guys have plenty of characters to choose from for the meme and cursed variety. But your fandom also has a list of characters that fall under the should I mark this as mature content because of what is inevitably going to end up in the tags and comments. Because I have seen your characters referred to as "daddy" or "mommy" Way more than JJK or the other two members of the unhinged trio and those fandoms are way more crazy collectively.

Trigun is the most loyal ride or die fandom that will show up for any poll with one of their characters no matter what. With a level of enthusiasm that is impressive but lacks the pure crazy of the unhinged trio

Mob Psycho 100 I've only had one character submitted from your show but you guys show up almost as much as Trigun but I don't know if that loyalty translates to other characters

Jojo you guys either show up and vote and reblog quietly or are just as bad as the unhinged trio 50/50 chance also depends on the character so I never know what to expect.

Now Attack on Titan. Is that fandom alive? Because I have gotten a few requests to do their characters but they have never shown up to defend their character. Which is funny because they're still in the top 20 anime and Manga fandom charts. But as far as I can tell the fandom does not exist or they're invisible so are you guys doing okay? I know the final season was supposed to be traumatic or something but I mean so was JJK season 2 and it just turned that fandom into an unhinged mess so you all should be fine or at least have a pulse. Do you guys need to speak to the Hannibal fandom for support? I mean they're still alive all these years later even after their tragic ending.

Hunter x Hunter You're a fandom that shows up consistently. Vote and reblog but you don't make a scene. That's all I can really say. It's very similar to how the Trigun fandom behaves but not quite the same enthusiasm as Trigun that is ride or die no matter the character

Fate is another fandom where you either show up or you don't. There is no in between. I wonder if it depends on the character. But I don't know. There just hasn't been enough polls

Soul Eater. You guys are unhinged only when it comes to Stein any other character I don't know but Stein 100% ride or die.

Dungeon Meshi very similar to JoJo except if it's Senshi or Falin guaranteed you guys will be just as bad if not worse than the unhinged trio any other character there's a chance you might not show up at all

Now to all the people who find the Senshi polls annoying. I would like to apologize for the monster I mean meme I accidentally created. It was never my intention for this to get out of hand I hope you can forgive me one day. But apparently they're going to kill King Charles. I still don't get it I might be getting old

If I haven't mentioned your fandom, it's probably because your characters don't get submitted enough for me to notice a trend but I will be watching. This is just what I've observed so far I hope you enjoyed my observations. I found these trends interesting

#not a poll #just my two cents #fandom #fandom culture #poll analysis

[mdhwrites]

You said the arcs of certain characters in TOH have an 'Us vs. Them mentality.' I take it that's because, as you say, the narrative pins the bad qualities of certain characters on separate parties (e.g. "Amity's flaws are only because of her mom"), but would you care to elaborate further on said mentality and how it sticks out to you in TOH?

So shockingly, not really. It plays into it but I am actually inherently talking about the same sort of mentality that Belos perpetuates but back onto Luz. After all, if you look at the main cast by even mid season 2 we have a problem forming. Eda: Has lost her criminal edge, has no personal interests, is defined by being nice in a way befitting Luz's worldview. Momma Eda.

Amity: No longer is studious and hard working but instead focuses more on her girlfriend and her nerdy interests. Is also now just nice. Was only shown genuine care by Luz, instead of just trying to fulfill her nerdy desires, once she finds out Amity is into Azura.

Lilith: Has turned into a nerd and given up on any ambitions that had led to her previous actions, becoming a nice cool aunt. Only now has Luz tried to form any relationship with her (admittedly, she didn't get many chances before now).

Hunter: Has only been being given kindness because he has shown a capacity for kindness that Luz only really started showing him, beyond not wanting him to die, once he showed he had a nerdy interest in wild magic.

Gus: Was a nerd from go and always nice, even if he could be slightly selfish.

Willow: By mid S2, is essentially out of the show for the past half season, has never had a strong personality and is just nice. Yes, she'll start her jock stuff soon... And never have a real conversation with Luz again, at least not until S3 maybe? So a full season where Luz and Willow, after Willow might have stopped being nerdy/an outcast, where Luz doesn't have an interest in her anymore.

And uh, just as a reminder to S3, Hunter gains a scifi interest post redemption and Luz explicitly listens to NOTHING her mother says to her during her big speech in For the Future until she reveals herself to be a secret nerd. At that point, suddenly Luz dials in.

For TOH, a show supposedly about the individual and self expression, characters either lose their personality and/or gain the personality that matches LUZ. There is less character variety in interests and personalities than even 90s cartoons much of the time by the end of TOH because these characters all lose so much of themselves fitting in with the good guys, especially the redeemed ones.

This is where your argument for this does come into play. I'll frame it as the fandom likes to with Amity: "She didn't have Luz in her life yet."

Amity is only a bitch while she is hanging out with the wrong crowd. Socialites, those with ambition and jocks. The Luz enters her life and despite the fact that the ONE time Luz ever calls Amity out for being a bitch being when Amity is being a bully to King and clearly trying to get a rise out of Luz, making that moment meaningless, that simple fact starts warping Amity. Starts making her turn back to her good, nerdy side. And because this is such an inherently good thing, there is no difficulty in doing this. She needs no motivation, no calling out, nothing. She just needs to desire to be like Luz/liked by Luz. She can discard her entire friend group and do things that should get her disowned with how evil Odalia is and face zero consequences because... I guess that's the power of becoming a nerd.

You are beyond reproach. You can only do good. Same goes for Hunter. Despite YEARS of potential propaganda and the like, Luz just getting into his life and admittedly jabbing at Belos/him a little, is all it takes for him to embrace the inherent goodness, displayed by his nerdiness about wild magic, and start becoming a better person. For this, he loses his home but that is only seen as a positive because indeed, he got away from those hostile that made him a bad person. He could now be a good person because he no longer had those influences and could embrace Luz's way of life.

With the show's themes, why is this the case? Shouldn't their base personalities be allowed to exist? Shouldn't a wide range of ideologies and the like be allowed since that is a part of self expression? Instead, when people don't like Luz approves, they are disapproved by Luz and either need to get the fuck out or conform.

And this is all without getting into how she becomes Jesus in the last episode...

None of this is intentional but if someone told me that the show felt hostile to them because they didn't consider themselves a nerd or because they tried to get somewhere in life, I wouldn't blame them. The show has a weirdly narrow belief in who is a good person. Who is allowed to exist in the main cast, a problem that cascades issues into a lot of its themes. I mean, this is the first show I've ever had to ask if character arcs are actually hurt the themes of the show because of this, a blog I sadly couldn't refind.

There is admittedly an element of this where I might not have thought about it without the fandom. Most people I know who are multi-fandom still agree that TOH is aggressive against others, even for a fandom. That it lashes out and blames others for its problems. Almost like a *gestures at the thesis*

And that doesn't help make any of this be less uncomfortable unfortunately. See you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical

[ineed-to-sleep]

Tagged by @seldaryne <3

I'm tagging @alongtidesoflight , @peachshroom , @boghermit to share some BG3 oc info if you'd like! ^^

And anyone who wants to do this, pls consider yourself tagged and feel free to tag me so I can see your oc!

Name: Nawen Farlong

Nickname(s): No specific nicknames, though she does get "darling" from Astarion and "soldier" from Karlach. She's generally more often the one that gives people nicknames instead of receiving them skdhakd Astarion gets "angel" and "kitten" a lot, Shadowheart gets "my heart" and "my love" and Karlach usually gets "general"(a lot of the nicknames she gives were initially meant with sarcasm, but after a while became actual terms of endearment).

Pronouns: She/her

Star sign: Whatever the in-universe equivalent of a scorpio is

Height: 5'3" with the attitude of 6'4"

Orientation: Everyone is game. If she were a romance option, rest assured you could probably romance her, as long as you're being a cunt ♡

Race: Half-drow

Romancing: Astarion, but it's kinda hard to tell unless you spend a long time with them. Astarion isn't 100% comfortable with touching and she's not fond of PDA(she gets all light headed and giggly with physical affection and she hates being seen like that by most people. it breaks the bad bitch fantasy). You could see them occasionally flirting or teasing each other but they're also just Like That with most people, so it's hard to tell if they're really an item. They mostly look like coworkers. Partners in crime if you will.

Favorite fruit: She doesn't really have a particular favorite. She likes melon pies and cranberry wine, so by association she might feel more inclined to like those fruits, but nothing she's too crazy about.

Favorite season: She generally likes fall and spring, when it's not too hot out but not too cold either. Wearing too many layers of clothing makes her feel trapped and constrained, and as much as she likes showing skin, warmer temperatures make wearing armor extra uncomfortable, so middle of the road is her favorite.

Favorite flower: It's a tie between lavender and jasmine- lavender providing one of her favorite scents and jasmine one of her favorite teas. She's also fond of water lilies, graceful reminders of the wetlands she grew up in.

Favorite scent: She's never been one for dedicated worship but loves the smell of incense you usually find in temples. She rarely gets inside temples, but when she does she usually comes out with at least a couple "borrowed" incense sticks. Her favorite varieties are lavender and rosemary scents. Other than that, she likes very subtle perfumes that you can only really smell if you get your nose right up on her neck.

Coffee, tea or hot chocolate: Tea. Coffee tends to make her shaky and more anxious, and hot chocolate tends to be a bit too sweet for her tastes. Tea usually helps calm her nerves, so she feels encouraged to drink it quite often.

Average sleep hours: This woman is paranoid and right after popping out of the nautiloid she gets maybe a total of 2-4 hrs of sleep a night. She knows she needs to sleep to function like a human being the next day, but because of a constant fear of attack and distrust for her companions, her sleep time is sectioned and she wakes up several times during the night because there was a weird noise or her internal clock said "ok you've had enough, get up and do the rounds for the 100th time". She always gets up earlier than everyone else. She gets a bit more comfortable as she starts to trust the people around her, but bad habits die hard and it'll be years before she can get an actual full night of rest.

Dogs or cats: She likes animals in general, and her favorites are little mice(quick, can get in and out of places really easily, make for great messengers and easy-to-hide-in-your-pocket pets), but if she had to choose between cats and dogs, cats would probably win, just because they're usually quieter companions and she feels she has more in common with them than with dogs.

Dream trip: She's been to most major cities along the sword coast and is honestly a little bit sick of the place by now. She also has a bit of an aversion to the underdark due to having her differences with some of the locals. Overall, she would love to visit other places in Faerun, maybe farther up north. She's also always been curious about Candlekeep, not because of the endless book collection, but because of rumors of hidden magic and strange creatures living beneath its halls.

Amount of blankets: None at all, if she can help it. Blankets can get in the way if you need to get up quickly in the middle of the night or struggle with an attacker- not that it's happened to her before, noo, nothing embarrassing like that. But she'd rather prevent any mishaps.

Random fact(s):

She gets new piercings on her ears by the beginning of act 3, courtesy of Shadowheart, and helps her change her hair in return.

She and Karlach have the most unexpected friendship and she would probably die for Karlach while Karlach really believes she could fix her.

She's a magic nerd and can often keep up with Gale when discussing the arcane(usually alienating everyone else in the party from the conversation).

She fights with double rapiers instead of double daggers or swords because she understood, from a very early age, how to serve cunt.

#bg3 #tav #bg3 tav #oc.nawen #tag game #iloveyou tag games iloveyou free chance to infodump #every time I get to infodump my lifespan is extended by at least a couple months

[theywhowriteandknowthings]

My AO3 year in review,

Breaking the Rules was my first, not so well planned series that I ever wrote. Lots of plot holes and my writing was nowhere near as refined as it is now. But it's something to look back on fondly enough. It's DBF!Joel so I'm wholly unsurprised with it taking top spot.

Mine, being 2nd and 3rd; and Miggy Please, being 3rd and 4th respectively by hits then kudos is a real joy for me to see. My Miguel content doesn't get much love on here so I'm glad they both got some love on AO3.

Sex with Strangers is another set of Joel Miller Smut, so again not surprised it's up there at 5th in hits.

Hazy Days is one of my favorourite Din Djarin fics I've written, just because I love me some sex pheromones. So again, very pleased to see that at 2nd in kudos and 4th in hits.

Crossfire has gotten a lot of attention due to season 2 of Reacher releasing a few weeks ago. It's sloppy and wonderful and just PWP and I'm ok with that. I might write more Reacher stuff in the future when my WIP pile is not so monstrous lol. Nice to see it squeeze in there at 5th for kudos.

So yeah, after almost 12 years out from writing, it's nice to see some hard statistics to see how far I've come this year. I'll always be on AO3 if Tumblr ever decides to finally die, and I've got other socials, including potentially setting up a Discord server at some point.

This post is more for my own tracking? Reflection? Something like that.

Can't wait to do one of these next year!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my return to this wonderful way of expression!

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #fanfic #joel miller #joel miller x reader #din djarin #joel miller x you #the mandalorian #spiderman 2099 #astv miguel #miguel atsv #alan ritchson #reacher #reacher season 2 #jack reacher #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin x female reader #miguel o'hara #across the spiderverse #atsv #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara fanfiction #miguel o'hara x you #oscar isaac #oscar isaac hernandez estrada #oscar isaac characters #ao3 writer #ao3 #year in review

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 3, Match 15: Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu vs. Jack Starbright

Submitted kids:

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu: Zhang Chengling, Gu Xiang, Liang Jiuxiao, arguably also Cao Weining and Gao Xiaolian

Jack Starbright: Alex Rider, Tom Harris, and as of season 3, Kyra Vaschenko-Chao

Propaganda under the cut!

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu:

1, Wen Kexing: “Look this man shouldn't be adopting kids because he's kinda evil and also the leader of an army of criminals and outcasts, a position where he killed his way to the top at a young age, BUT when he was still just a kid he found Gu Xiang and knew that if he didn't take care of her that she would die and became her father/brother/master (it's complicated). And then many years later when he's off doing his revenge quest he basically ends up adopting Chengling who is freshly an orphan which was kind of Kexing’s fault (it's complicated), but Chengling doesn't mind that his new dads are a little evil (his other dad is Zhou Zishu who basically created the CIA in fantasy ancient China). And then Gu Xiang falls in love with Cao Weining which puts Kexing into protective father mode and he goes all overbearing father-in-law on Weining, but he comes around when he's sure that Weining will treat her right. And then when Weining's family/sect turns on him, Kexing becomes one of the few people left he could call family (also with the rest of the group).”

2, Zhou Zishu: “former assassin who literally just wanted to drink himself to death in peace but then in the span of like 2 day he suddenly obtained 2 kids and a husband(stalker)???? poor man Did Not want this and proceeds to spend the next few weeks/months in denial about it before finally coming to terms with the fact that he cares about all of them (not that he's gonna tell them that) and then he gets a son-in-law too??? the universe really refused to let him die alone and miserable and decided to drop and entire family on him out of nowhere”

Link to the rest here!

Jack Starbright:

“was about to quit her job of looking after alex but then alex's guardian died and she went "guess he's my kid now" and didn't look back. and alex's best friend is always around so fuck might as well adopt him too while we're here. (to be clear, she does become alex's legal guardian at the end of season two, tom is not legally her kid he's just always at her house even when alex isn't home.) i'm almost certain she's trying to adopt kyra as well. jack is a twenty something year old woman who went from "i just look after this one kid when his uncle is away on business trips" to two "i have two teenage sons" pretty much the minute her boss died and she never looked back. she never asked for these kids, but she loves them more than anything and sacrifices so much to keep them safe.”

#wen kexing #zhou zishu #jack starbright #wkx #faraway wanderers #tyk #alex rider tv #word of honor #woh #alex rider #serial adopters bracket #round 3 #tumblr polls #tumblr tournament

[anti-spop]

just wanted to talk about crowley and aziraphale again and what c//a could've been.

in good omens (the series), crowley and aziraphale are seen arguing a couple of times, and as a result, they separate, sometimes not talking for years. usually crowley is the one who leaves, having a "running away" mentality while aziraphale wants to stay and fight, and make a difference.

despite this, crowley is always seen coming back for aziraphale. even after their big falling out in the season 2 finale, crowley is still waiting for aziraphale before he goes to heaven - crowley never truly left. it's also worth noting that he usually comes back to save aziraphale from danger (as seen in 1941 and then after finding out aziraphale might be erased from the book of life(?) for hiding gabriel)

the reason i'm bringing this up is that catra leaves adora to literally die more than once, and the only instance where she actually goes back for adora is in season 5. and even then, catra openly blames adora for not staying with her ("of course she's gone! that's what she does, isn't it?"). which isn't true, because adora constantly reaches out to her. adora never shut her out. catra is the one who does that, so it only makes her look like a hypocrite.

also worth mentioning that even if crowley and aziraphale have different methods of solving problems, they still have similar morals. crowley is incapable of doing actual real harm, and aziraphale doesn't entirely agree with heaven, either - that's why they work together and eventually come up with a solution. they balance each other out. sadly, i just don't see that kind of teamwork between catra and adora.

#i post #spop critical #anti c//a

[eriexplosion]

FINISHING OUT SEASON ONE WITH KAMINO LOST, TIME TO CRY.

Lugging Crosshair around Kamino like a sack of sad potatoes. The way he gets to wake up pinned underneath a fucking steel beam like fucking congrats you tried to kill yourself one way so how do you feel about this significantly worse impending doom?

The voice work on the clone reporting that Kamino is destroyed is fantastic, that poor fucking clone.

GREETINGS CT-9904! YOU SURVIVED THE AERIAL BOMBARDMENT BUT ARE NOW MOMENTS AWAY FROM DROWNING!

Azi is so fucking funny like it's obviously terrible to experience this but imagine doing it with this chipper robot narrating your oncoming demise for you

I have a headcanon that Crosshair has a fear of drowning, because his reactions to possible death elsewhere are nothing like here where he sees the water and starts Immediately trying to actually survive.

Getting Hunter to shoot him? Fine, he'll take that. But do NOT let this fucking planet drown him after all this time.

"WHAT have you DONE" Crosshair do you really think this is THEIR FAULT? You knew the Empire was going to bomb the place!

IF YOU WANT TO STAY HERE AND DIE THAT'S YOUR CALL sometimes you need to lay it out clearly for someone that is intent on throwing a giant tantrum.

The entire tower of pods being submerged fucks me up so much

God but if there's one thing they're good at doing it's animating absolutely devastating destruction in intense detail.

Never noticed before that Echo nearly falls and has to grab onto Crosshair because everything was always moving SO FAST.

Crosshair genuinely standing there looking like he's thinking about just staying there and dying but thinking better of it when he realizes dying here means drowning specifically.

ENDING UP BACK IN THE BARRACKS.

Literally they are safe for like 3 minutes tops and Crosshair plans to spend all of them complaining.

We made a choice, and so did you. Goddddd the betrayal and hurt layered in there. Just. A lot changed when Crosshair said that the chip was out and didn't bother to clarify when. And no one here knows the chip was enhanced to be even stronger. (Except maybe AZI?) Just Crosshair really feels like he admitted he totally tried to kill them under his own power.

"We need to go back" BACK TO W H E R E CROSSHAIR?

Tech's assessment that basically diagnoses Crosshair as Insanely and Incredibly Stubborn. I dub thee an unbearable bitch, but I understand you.

THIS OUTCOME IS SATISFACTORY! while they all look utterly traumatized by the experience.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LET A KID CALL THE SHOTS Crosshair I swear to god. Your plan was to stand there and die so like, I think u need to ease up a bit.

Literally might be dead in a few hours but he WILL dedicate those last few hours entirely to registering numerous complaints and insulting a 12 year old. I love him.

"THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM HUNTER, YOU TAKE THINGS TOO PERSONALLY." This is single handedly the funniest line in the show no intentional humor can beat Crosshair accusing other people of taking things too personally like he doesn't take every single action utterly personally to a pathological degree.

Omega trying very very hard to bond with Crosshair who is blocking her attempts to know him with the skill of an elite goalie.

You know my headcanon is still that AZI took Crosshair's chip out to save his life and that's why Crosshair was the one to say that the droid could do it. Nothing has actively shut this down either and with AZI possibly being the only one to know Crosshair's chip was enhanced I would LOVE for this to come back up.

I understand why Omega has to be in her own tube for plot related reasons but it is SO fucking funny that Echo and Tech are doubled up and SO ARE HUNTER AND CROSSHAIR instead of Hunter being in Omega's tube.

Our Get Along Tube

The sequence of AZI guiding the tubes is actually legit beautiful the GRACE of juggling all of them and the light of AZI's eyes in the dark

Genuinely the way they used AZI at the end of season 2 does not make up for how genuinely devastating AZI falling into the depths i- wait a fucking moment. Why is this so reminiscent of Tech's slow mo fall into the clouds?

Omega watching someone she loves slowly fall away from her. Will she try to save Tech in some way and need to get rescued herself? Hm. Much to think about.

I feel like people do overstate the moment of everyone aiming guns at Crosshair because like it is definitely mentally traumatic to Crosshair but they absolutely had their stun on. Sometimes I see people act like they were going to kill him lol.

Everyone looking at the ruins of Tipoca City because no matter how they felt about it, it was the only home they ever had. Seeing it just utterly in ruins like that, my HEART.

God they tried to give Crosshair a chance to come with them and he's just not READY YET. Well he'll have a lot of time to think about it here on Kamino. Lots of time.

Ughhhhh this is such a heartbreaking ending I need season 3 to end on a high note because this is SO DEPRESSING.

I understand why they wanted to put the Mt Tantiss hook in at the end but godddd does it throw off the pacing, Crosshair watching them fly away is like the perfect final shot.

#the bad batch rewatch

[dubiouslynamed]

Alright, this idea has been giving me a hard time for weeks. Out into the void it goes! Sorry it's so long. There's more under the cut, believe me.

CURTAIN/ NIAT RUC

The Bentley's license plate, NIAT RUC, has been visible from the beginning of this show and it's been nagging at the back of my head just as long. Why is it 'curtain' spelled backwards? What does it mean? And what is the overall story about? Crowley asks the question at the beginning of Season 2. What's the point of it all? Angels, demons, heaven, hell? Is that license plate a Clue? Obviously, I think it is.

Good Omens is about friendship and love, certainly. But there's more going on. The book and show both deal with huge moral and ethical questions-often in the flashbacks, but not always. Why is the universe the way it is? Why do bad things happen to good people? How do you choose between two bad options? Why should you have to, sometimes? Is it right to harm one person to save another (Or many others? Or all the others?). What's the point of it all?

I think that's part of why this particular story, in whatever medium it's told, is so compelling. I love the characters and the writing and the direction and the production-clearly all the work of many very committed people who also love the story and have the skill and talent to bring it to life. But the best stories, and for me this is one of them, examine the *really* big questions. Good Omens asks those questions and somehow (Maybe by using an angel and demon as protagonists? I don't know. It's a mystery!) manages to be hugely entertaining while doing so.

Curtain is Agatha Christie's last Hercule Poirot mystery. She wrote it in the early 1940s, partly worried she might die in the Blitz and leave her detective without a satisfactory ending, and locked it up to be published over 30 years later in the 1970s. In it, a dying Poirot solves the mystery of the identity of a serial killer who has mastered the art of psychologically provoking other people to commit murders without ever being found out as the person who persuaded them to kill. There isn't enough evidence to charge this indirect murderer with anything and Poirot believes he will continue his crimes uncaught. Poirot murders the serial killer himself (by deceiving his friend Hastings to a fare-thee-well and then arranging the evidence to look like the killer committed suicide). He then stops taking the medicine that has been keeping him alive. Poirot's solution is what he sees as the lesser evil of murdering the killer followed by atonement in the form of his own death. In short, Poirot has chosen among the bad options available to him while retaining the moral sense that his choice is itself evil. Some Christie fans won't read Curtain and I don't blame them.

The Metatron looks a lot like the manipulative serial killer in Curtain, though a writer as skilled as Neil Gaiman doesn't borrow entire characters or plots. The Metatron is certainly in a position to have influenced or even caused some of Heaven's morally outrageous actions by representing them as the word of God. Poisoning the angels against humanity bit by bit over millennia until they have no problem with the idea of destroying all of creation. They're even enthusiastic about it. Heaven is arguably worse than Hell at this point because, in fairness, Hell seems to look at humanity as a recruitment opportunity more than anything else.

In the first series of Good Omens, we see Crowley propose murdering the Antichrist to stop the Apocalypse and Aziraphale come close to doing it (he is only stopped by Madame Tracy's good sense from firing the thunder gun at Adam). You have to wonder what would have happened to Aziraphale if he'd managed to succeed. Something like Poirot's death? Do even good-hearted angels have to choose between bad options?

I believe that authors, being deeply concerned with words and their meanings, should be taken seriously about what they call their stories. An omen is a portent, for good or for evil, of events to come. So the name Good Omens essentially means 'this is a story about good things that will happen in the future'. Perhaps, perhaps, then, Good Omens is a story about finding and removing a source of evil in the universe without having to commit a moral crime to do it and, as a consequence, getting things more on track to a happier ending for everyone, our characters included. Not to a place where too often there is only a choice among bad options but to a place where there are more good options. More reason for the dealer in God's metaphor to be smiling all the time. Not Curtain, but its reverse.

#gos2 #good omens #good omens meta

[kyouka-supremacy]

Any predictions on what is going to happen in and after this arc?

I don't think I'm very good at predictions (╥﹏╥) I really can't guess what's Dostoyevsky's deal, but if else, that makes following the current manga events all the more exciting! Again, by the looks of it we're going to find out the backstory of a character that was first introduced in 2013, so reading the last chapter was a real “whoa” moment for me. As for the guesses I can take, it really doesn't go much further than:

Whatever is going on in the last chapter between Dostoyevsky and Bram is probably going to lead to Bram's demise as it was shown in chapter 102.

I think there's likely some connection between the scars (?) on Bram's face and the way medieval Dostoyevsky displayed an analogous one in the last chapter, because they're too similar to be put there randomly.

Something I haven't seen being brought up is the possibility of Dostoyevsky being able to time travel rather than be eternal, which even though doesn't feel like the most convincing explanation, I feel like it's too soon to fully exclude either?

Jokes aside, I don't think Akutagawa has any real chance to play a role in this, because it's evidently something that's happened in the past. And though the author looves time traveling shenanigans, that feels a bit of a stretch. Although the last attire we saw Akutagawa in did resemble a medieval aesthetic, so who knows if he doesn't have some other kind of connection to the events…

But I DO feel like the change in appearance must be telling of some new alliance. Likely something from Europe. We know the author is probably going to move the focus to European authors next, they already seemed to suggest so in an interview, and if God allows it it's finally going to be time for Agatha and the Order of the Clock Tower.

I. Idk. Have been growing an underlying suspicion that the 2-hours-later sskk scene is going to be a spinoff movie to come some time in the future. It's going to feature time traveling shenanigans (see the very limited timeframe skip) and Fukuchi coming back in a new weird form and sskk getting their rematch with him I have been saying they narratively deserve. Overall it's something that won't be covered by the manga à la Dead Apple, standalone and that can be skipped past. It does make sense marketing wise because it'll be years before the manga will have released enough content for another anime season, and given that the bsd franchise is comparatively very popular right now, I highly doubt they'll let the hype slowly die– that's also why I'm waiting for the announcement of a new Wan anime season any day now. I've said before it doesn't look like we're getting the cool sskk scene in the manga soon, and that it most likely solved the purpose of a teaser for the next arc for various reasons; the last chapter seemingly skipping past it seems now to confirm that. The very high quality of the animation of that scene in the anime might be a further hint in the movie direction, to be honest. (I'm only now realizing that if that's true, it means that we are not getting that scene in Harukawa's art style, and am suddenly hating everything and not want it to become true). That said, a Stormbringer movie seems likely too, so who knows.

Back to chapter 113. The jokes about Dazai not being included in the ada family picture are hilarious, and I do personally believe Dazai is more distant to the rest of the ada than other members; that said, I doubt it has anything to do with the panel itself, and as of now I don't think it's that deep ahah. In general, I find it very hard to believe that Dazai is the one that's going to be transferred to the pm: that feels to me a quite lazy direction to take storytelling wise. We already saw what it's like to have Dazai in the pm, no need to relapse to that. That's why, regretfully, I doubt Atsushi is going to be taken in either, because we already know what pm Atsushi is like (VERY very regretfully for me. Because I'd love more Atsushi screentime and because my brain quite automatically makes a jump from “Atsushi joins the pm” to “sskk canonly live together”. Also all the “sskk are Double Black 2.0” that has been tormenting sskk shippers since the start of time, might as well make them the New Double Black for real this time.). Tanizaki sounds like a good bet to be honest: because, on top of being the only ada member with a completely unexplored backstory, we already saw him interact with the pm a lot over the course of the whole manga, which can be taken as a slow build-up for the moment he ends up joining their ranks; from the pm perspective, since he showed to be a challenge for them in more than one occasion (he even intruded the boss' chambers once), it would make sense to try and get him on their side. And Tanizaki having already volunteered to join them in chapter 65. Honestly, everything seems to point in that direction right now.

I hope the following chapters also explain why taking the sword off Bram didn't kill him as previously established because as of now the seemingly plot hole is bothering me a lot.

That's all that comes to my mind right now, excited to see what the manga will be up to next!

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd ch 113 #mine #people asks me stuff

[bitter-sweet-coffee]

no like. think about it. eclipse was created because his people were defeated and a dying species already, and they came to earth to hopefully restore the black arms SO THEY DONT FUCKING DIE LMAO??? and he doesn't instantly go apeshit like even though he was created to destroy shadow and is plagued by being made in his image aka not his own person (cough shadow cough metal sonic) but he asks shadow to join him. against his orders btw. and then tries to mind control shadow to cooperate instead of just like, y'know, killing him. basically begging for an ally.

then later on eclipse gets thrown to earth with the eggs as he literally begs to help back home (because unlike literally other black/dark arm antagonist he ACTUALLY fucking cares about his species' survival). oh then black death fucking dies and so does the eye so eclipse is furious and also hurt (very reasonable that's his dad basically?!?)

to make matters worse, in the crash landing only 4 of the hatchlings survived. 4. yeah that's a real strong generation guys like ??? he's distraught he's so relieved when he finds survivors just look:

like??? look how pure he is i'm so mad about it:

he's literally just this young dude thrown into existence to save his dying people, and then disobeys orders to try and make sure everyone he knows is safe and happy BUT THEN ALSO BEFRIENDS THE GUY HE'S SUPPOSED TO KILL NOT ONCE BUT TWICE BC HE DOES IT AGAIN LATER AND WANTS A DAMN FAMILY MEMBER??? EVEN AFTER SHADOW & CO KILLED HIS DAD???

like. some people might argue "well he still wants to harvest the earth" uh yeah because food? He'll do anything to protect his people that's not inherently wrong just help the dude by giving him a different source because using earth is all he knows? sure he's the only black arms with free will (lmao in your face shadow) but he tried to ask for shadow's help numerous times and that fucker denied him. like. SHADOW. MY DUDE. YOU ARE MAKING AN ENEMY HERE. HELP ECLIPSE RESTORE HIS (ACTUALLY BOTH OF YOUR) ENDANGERED SPECIES/ALIEN RACE WITHOUT IT HURTING ANYONE SO EVERYONE WINS???

i think shadow should have said yes but worked with eclipse to find sustainable food for the black arms that wouldn't hurt others so they could get an ally and a family member out of it. imagine eclipse ruling the black arms which restores them to full power??? AND THEN THEYRE REALLY STRONG ALLIES IN CASE OTHER THREATS COME ALONG LIKE IMAGINE SEASON 3 OF SONIC X BUT SORTA LIKE 06 WITH A VIBE OF SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG 2 WHERE AT ONE POINTS HE CALLS ON ECLIPSE (revealing the now prosperous colony) TO HELP ASSIST SONIC & CO??? AND IT WORKS???

oh my god. since they're potentially not forced to stick around earth for food they could explore the galaxies. why couldn't the black arms eventually SOS shadow because these extremely advanced aliens are wrecking their shit and stealing everything and draining them because these dudes are basically gods and shadow is like "okay i'll get help" because these godly aliens will eventually find earth. oh turns out these are the babylonians! yeah! like they found the REAL babylon (planet) not just the measly scavenger ship that crashed to earth and caused all that riders crap + gave us the babylon rogues.

why. why couldn't we have this. SEGA i'm so disappointed this is why i used to never bring up archie because while i admit i haven't reread the comics in years and thus the nostalgia and bias might have warped my memory of events... eclipse deserved better. we could have had really cool allies but instead they went with a second black arms genocide. grrrrrr

#bsc canon lore #bsc words #archie sonic #eclipse the darkling #the black arms #shadow the hedgehog #sonic x #the babylon rogues

[ultimate-blorbo-collector]

Belos with a human who’s a monster hunter

I made an OC who’s a vampire hunter, but I’m still developing them and making changes. I don’t want to post about them yet, but here are some of the ideas I’ve come up with. Although the OC I had in mind while writing this is a vampire hunter, this could apply to any self-insert or OC that hunts creatures from folklore, beasts from the demon realm, etc.

TW and CW for manipulation, gaslighting (literally altering/destroying memories), and isolation for Belos because what post about Belos isn’t going to have that? You could also consider it yandere if you want, but it's really just him being super manipulative and possessive. Also, warning for spoilers for Season 2, I guess. There's also nothing explicitly romantic in here, so this could be platonic.

He is so excited that you have something in common, or at least he thinks you do. If you want to add witch-hunting into the mix, he’s ecstatic.

He doesn't tell you that he's a witch hunter right away, just in case the Isles has warped your mind as well. He tests the waters with you. Depending on how you feel about the witches, it could take years for him to tell you, or he might never tell you.

No matter what, he isolates you. While it varies, depending on how secure he feels with you and whether he trusts you, he's not letting anything corrupt you. At the most, he might teach you some things to keep you safe, but he would show you the glyph rather than any concepts.

No matter how secure he feels, he's convinced that it's his duty to protect you. You got stuck in the demon realm for a reason, and that reason is to either help him fight or help him remember what he's fighting for.

Depending on whether or not he’s completely honest with you, he probably tries to convince you to join him through the fact that your goals overlap. If you hunt anything humanoid, they are probably witches as well. If you hunt the beast-like demons on the Boiling Isles, he’ll probably tell you that they will die off without the witches helping them, even if that’s not true.

While he is extremely protective of you and you will have to convince him to let you continue your hunting, it is possible. He encourages and praises you, regardless of the outcome. Before you leave to hunt, he makes sure you have all of your supplies and sends you with multiple scouts to make sure you’re safe. When you come back, he showers you in affection.

If you do want to start witch hunting or at least are indifferent to the lives of witches, consider the following:

Mr. Witch Hunter General is absolutely giving you a title. It'll mostly be up to you, but he might suggest general (if you want to be considered equal), aide-de-camp, or lieutenant general.

He absolutely teaches you all the tricks he knows and asks you to do the same. Traps, general knowledge, knots, and fighting techniques are all fair game between you two.

If you want to actively help, he’s so glad, but there’s a pretty high chance that he won’t let you. He’s super protective over you and hates the idea of you doing anything without him. He has his plan figured out, so he feels the most you can do to help is to keep him company. His puritan upbringing also doesn’t help with this, regardless of your gender and whether he’s moved on from that kind of thinking.

He hopes that he can help you with your monster-hunting once the witches are taken care of. Just like your monster-hunting skills translate to witch-hunting, his witch-hunting skills should translate to monster-hunting.

If not:

If he does decide to tell you that he's a witch hunter or human, he lies to you about other things since he realizes that his methods seem extreme and cruel, despite him being absolutely right.

Depending on what he thinks you would believe, he might tell you that the Day of Unity only leaves witches powerless, that it’s simply a way to open the portal, or he could tell a modified version of the lie he tells everyone else.

Also, if you find out something you weren't supposed to, he isn't above going into your mindscape or using magic to alter your memories. He'd prefer not to, and he'll try convincing you first. If you're so cross that you won't listen to him, he'll turn to that.

This dude is manipulative and will subtly manipulate you until you’re on his side about the witches. He’ll lie to you and the witches around you, just starting shit until he’s basically the only one you have good interactions with.

Kinda obvious since he uses a similar tactic in canon, but he will get witches to attack you. Sometimes, he will "protect" you, but at other times, he'll leave you to take care of it.

#emperor belos #Belos #belos x reader #philip wittebane x reader #simp list #yandere #yandere belos #yandere philip wittebane #toh #the owl house

[riversmelody221]

SPOLIERS FOR OFMD SEASON 2 FINALE

Izzy's death has me PISSED, y'all.

They really set him up to grow in this season, to live through absolute hell and come out on the other side stronger, softer, more open, and then took that away? Izzy strikes me as this man who has always had to survive, never being able to truly relax, to live, and this season we get to see him let down his guard a little. We get to see him bonding with the crew, easing up. We got him in a GORGEOUS drag look, inching himself into unfamiliar, exhilarating new waters, and then the finale comes along and suddenly he's ready to die? It doesn't sit right with me.

Izzy should've been fighting tooth and nail to make it out on the other side. He should've been dragging his ass out of purgatory like the indestructible little fucker he's been shown to be. ESPECIALLY after his speech to that pathetic little no nose punk ass bitch. He found his family, he found a soft place to rest a little. And yes, I get the argument can be made that with Izzy in the picture, Ed might not have ever been able to let go of Blackbeard. But to me, that argument is undercut when Ed and Stede leave the fucking crew behind anyway to open their inn! I'm happy for those two, of course, but they couldn't have done it anyway and let Izzy fuck off with the crew? Izzy literally told Ed he was surrounded by people who love him, and then Ed promptly fucks off with ONE of them and let's the others sail off.

To be clear, I'm not too upset with Ed and Stede staying behind. I don't think Ed could be himself on the waters, tbh, so that was probably the best call. He's been sailing the seas for years as Blackbeard, so it makes sense that when he reinvents himself, he goes to land, sure. Stede following is a little strange to me, but I do get that he wants to be with Ed, and right now I'm focused on Izzy, so I'll let that slide.

TLDR; I don't know who tf they buried bc Israel Hands is alive and well, even if I have to write it into being myself.

But to make the catalyst for this decision the death of a character you spent an ENTIRE SEASON redeeming and making people adore (I've been an Izzy stan since day one, but I do get not liking him) just doesn't sit right with me. And his death didn't even feel that impactful. We get a short, quiet scene of them passing his cross, Ed hardly looking bothered despite crying over him when he died, and then we jump straight to a wedding!

#ofmd #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

For the director’s cut thing, do you want to share just generally how you came up with the idea for The Hedgehog’s Dilemma and if the story changed from your first idea?

Despite the fact that THD is set in season 1, the initial idea actually came from the Wembley hug scene and particularly comparing it to Jamie's reaction to his dad's abuse in 1x10. I figured that a) his ability to put himself back together after these types of incidents probably historically relied on no one witnessing or really acknowledging what had happened, and b) my issues with the way that Wembley was addressed after the fact in the writing aside (ie that it wasn't addressed at all), in universe, the fact that being forced into this moment of extreme vulnerability in front of basically everyone he knows didn't make him lash out or withdraw is a testament to the progress he'd made as a person. Which led me to the question at the heart of THD: how would Jamie have reacted to a similar incident in season 1, when he's still prickly and defensive and doesn't have much by way of actual friends on the team?

The other major part of the fic is the flashbacks. James, Georgie, and Jamie's relationship in this fic was essentially the product of me trying to fit everything we find out about them into a cohesive whole, and a surprisingly big part of that was finding an explanation I liked for the strange set dressing in his childhood bedroom: asides from the Keeley poster, which he probably got in his mid-late teens (she would have started modelling when he was 12-13 but probably didn't become popular enough to have posters available for another couple of years), it looks like the room of a fairly young child. The THD version of Jamie's backstory isn't like. my one definitive take, though there are some I will die on this hill, going to be part of the backstory in anything I write elements. (I won't get into it now because this answer is long enough, but I'm always willing to ramble about my Jamie backstory takes if anyone wants to hear them).

As for how it evolved... After I published the initial one-shot, I wrote chapter 2 to wrap up some loose ends by establishing that Jamie didn't get sent back to Manchester and showing him reconnect with Georgie, but I figured since I was already writing the chapter and he needed time to recover from the concussion in-universe, I might as well also write about him rebuilding this relationships with the rest of the team and with Nate. Chapter three was supposed to be a short epilogue about Jamie taking care of Roy after his knee injury, but that got me thinking about James coming to see the final match of the season and Jamie having to tell him he was transferring to Richmond, and it spiraled from there. And then the epilogue also spiraled and became Flightless Birds, which just hit 20k.

#asks #ask games #thank you! #fic: the hedgehog's dilemma #series: symbiosis #when you try to write a one-shot and instead turns out to be 80k #my initial projection for flightless birds was 30k total but uh. that seems unlikely #kvetch oc

[hazel-of-sodor]

Best of Discovery Season 1

This year the final season of Star Trek Discovery airs, bringing an end to the show that brought Star trek back to television after over a decade absense. To celebrate its 5 season run (which was incredibly long for a streaming show, I'll be doing a best of for all the seasons of streaming era trek so far, listing great moments/scenes (at least 13, as this was meant to be a bakers dozen series), and One honorable mention.

To start off, the season that Started it all, Star Trek Discovery Season One . Spoilers below

Battle of the Binary Stars

A fleet of Starfleet ships arrive to back up the USS Shenzhou against a klingon fleet, and what a fleet it is. A whole era of Starfleet design is explored in a single scene against a goreous backdrop of the titular binary stars.

2. U.S.S. Europa arrives

The U.S.S. Shenzhou is disable by the battle and is drifting towards an astroid when the Admiral's Flagship arrives. The Nimitz Class U.S.S. Europa arrives at the last second, tractoring the Shenzhou and calling a temporary ceasefire to the battle. It is a visually gorgeous scene with a wonderful score. For just a moment, the arrival of the mighty starship make it seem like everything might be okay.

3. U.S.S. Discovery arrives

U.S.S. Discovery, the namesake off the show doesn't appear till episode 3, but she make a grand entrance, saving the prison shuttle transporting Burnham in a scene that wonderfully conveys her size and grandeur

4. The shushing Klingon

Aboard the damaged U.S.S. Glenn, a team from the U.S.S. Discovery find the crew fataly mutilated by a failed spore jump, but more immediatly threatening, a monster roams the halls of the stricken ship, one capable of killing the klingon boarding party sent to recover the ships secerts. The scenes onboard the Glenn are brutal, and wonderfully tense. It also gives us the hilarious "did that klingon just shush me?" Moment. (I chose a pic of the Glenn rather than the interior as those were more graphic than I wanted for this post)

5. The Discovery saves Corvan II

Discovery makes her first successful long range spore jump and saves the Federation mining Colony Corvan II. Its a wonderful moment od Discovery's crew coming together to save civilians.

6. Please Don't Take My Ship, She's All I Have Left

This moment between Cornwall and Lorca is amazing, and makes me wish that lorca hadn't been mirror Lorca. His plea for him to keep command off discovery is heartfelt (but later revealed to be for all the wrong reasons)

7. Mudd Loses

Magic to Make the Sanest Man go man is amazing throughout, but the moment the crew finally outwits Mudd is so, so satisfying.

8. The Loss of the USS Gagarin

The Discovery attempts to save the U.S.S. Gagarin from the Klingopns and fails, despite their best efforts. The loss makes the war feel far more real, and highlights the fact the Discovery is just one ship, no matter her spore drive. I also love Lorca's speech here-"There will be time to grieve later"

9.Destruction of the Sarcophagus ship

A satisfying victory for the crew, and seeing discovery make all the jumps is an epic scene.

10.Mirror Tilly...kinda

"If you spoke to me that way I would cut out your tongue to lick my boots" What a line. Tilly taking on the role of her mirror counter part is amazing.

11. I.S.S. Shenzhou

The Mirror Shenzhou arrives, and she is beautiful. A former hero ships twisted mirror half.

12. Burnham kills Captain Connor

an amazing fight, and what a gut punch, as Burnham is forced to watch Connor die again, this time by her own hand. The crew clapping after the turbolift opens and his body falls out is chilling in the best way.

13. Reveal of the Imperial Palace

The I.S.S. Charon is an intimidating presense, and way cooler than a palace on a planet.

14. Destruction of the Charon and Discovery jumps Home

The bombing run Discovery makes on the Charon and her jump back to the prime universe using the resulting show wave is awesome, made even better on a personal layer by Burnham saving Mirror Georgiou-"I couldn't watch her die again"

15. Arrival at Qo'noS

Discovery jumps to a cave on Qo'nos, and I love the weight of the scene. You can feel gravity grabbing the ship and Discovery struggling against it.

16. We are Starfleet

The scene the show has been building to, Burnham stands up to command over the plan to destroy the Klingon homeworld, and the crew backs her up.

17. U.S.S. Enterprise

I remeber when I first saw her. The 1701 returned in all her glory. The TOS version is the definative U.S.S. Enterpise to me, but Discovery gave us an amazing earlier version. It had been decades since the prime 1701 had appeared on screen (we don't count certain series finalies) and its honestly still my favorite moment of the season.

Honorable mention: U.S.S. Discovery

the original teaser for the show showed a much different Discovery. While I understand this was never meant to be the final, I lover her all the same. It was also the moment Trek was back, after decades we had a new hero ship. I hope STO adds her someday, and that someone makes a model of her. She may not be the offical version, but she deserves love all the same.

#star trek #star trek discovery #star trek discovery appreciation post #USS Discovery #USS Enterprise #I don't own any of the screencaps #obviously

[seansilv25]

After two whole years of waiting, season 2 of What If is finally here!

And just as long in the wait is my ranking of every episode:

9: What if Captain Carter fought the Hydra Stomper? (The Watcher says he doesn't do sequels normally. I can see why, that wasn't all-too interesting

8: What if Strange Supreme intervened? (Strange has an entire heel-turn and decides to sacrifice multiple powerhouses to resurrect his world. I know he said he had "plenty of time" to watch over Killmonger and Zola, but it seemed like WAY too much

7: What if Hela found the Ten Rings? (While I haven't seen Shang-Chi, Hela's arc and the martial arts were pretty cool to see [Even if martial arts are too "show-offy" and "egotistical" to me]

6: What if Kahhori reshaped the world? (This one feels kind of weird to be put in a what if kind of setting, as most of it is completely new ideas for the MCU. Not exactly unwelcome, just odd

5: What if Peter Quill attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes? (This felt like an entire Avengers movie crammed into half an hour, yet somehow it works

4: What if Happy Hogan saved Christmas? (Happy does a Die Hard as Nando pops off at the return of the Hammer

3: What if Iron Man crashed into the Grandmaster? (It felt good to finally see this episode after it was cut from the season 1 lineup, and it was a fun Christmas gift

2: What if Nebula joined the Nova Corps? (An interesting Blade Runner-type noir. Definitely one way to open a season

1: What if the Avengers assembled in 1602? (I was probably most excited for this one and was not disappointed. It definitely felt like it had the most identity out of the rest

Well that's all the episodes ranked. Hopefully season 3 won't take as long to come out. And since we already have a preview of an episode, it just might come sooner...

#marvel what if #what if season 2

[cleabellanov]

Two weeks after the end of season 2, but I'm still there.

Part 2 (spoilers)

There are so many lines from episode 6 still lingering in my head, and that's because they're SO GOOD.

"The hard thing to do was the thing that had to be done."

Especially when this was coming from Mobius, who doesn't really show his repressed emotions, and we can imagine he has many in all this time spent at the TVA. This takes a knife that was already in your heart and twists it, reminding you it's there. This, for Loki, is the final piece of the puzzle. For us, it' s the realisation that no matter how hard the ending we got is to accept, with Loki alone on a throne he didn't want, it's the thing that had to be done.

Oftentimes, we might find ourselves coming back to this line when we don't want to do the hard thing, the thing that hurts. But ultimately, maybe it's for the better.

Could this be said for Loki's fate, too? It goes both ways. This, as Tom said in an interview, is Loki's second chance. After seeing his tragic end on the timeline, he wants to use this chance for something better, stronger. Something that future and past nemeses won't be able to swing back at the people he loves. This only brings us deeper into how crucial this end is for everything; Loki basically carries the MCU, in more ways than one. As of now, everyone got a new chance at life, and the TVA doesn't have to be subjugated under a selfish man's orders. And who knows, maybe, if not happiness, this at least brings Loki peace.

first talk

last talk. barely any differences, except an almost 3 year gap and a ton of emotional damage

"No, there's no comfort. You just choose your burden."

I can bet the Loki writers love to see us cry hahah.

Callback to being burdened with glorious purpose. Now, this isn't about glory anymore: the glory of becoming king by conquest, or just fulfilling a purpose and being done with it. This is about the burden. Purpose Is Glorious, but it's also a burden to bear, and Loki now knows that. It is a massive growth to go from the most selfish to the most selfless character, among many other things. Also, a reminder from S1E2, when, after watching his entire life literally flash before his eyes, Loki concludes with the words: "Glorious indeed". Little did anyone know how THAT wasn't the end at all, and the glory will actually be in the burden.

"We die with the dying, we're born with the dead"

I knew that sounded familiar when watching the episode, and looking it up, it is a T.S. Elliot quote, from the poem "Little Gidding". Now I'm no English major, but the overall themes of this poem are the flow of time, and the search for meaning in all the chaos that surrounds us. If that's not also the theme of season 2, then I don't know what it is. By saying this to He Who Remains, Loki acknowledges rebirth, or "reincarantion, baby" as we know it from season 1. This also refers the cyclical nature of the series, with the first and last episodes being titled Glorious Purpose, and all of it sets the scene for the Multiversal War we're going to see in future movies.

I am also going to point out a line from the First Quartet (Little Gidding being the Fourth out of four such quartets by Elliot). "If all time is eternally present/ All time is unredeemable". I can't help now but to think about this in Loki's perspective, at the end of time, where, as we saw in the finale, all those timelines are present for him, and as long as he protects them, that's eternity. More than that, in the Multiverse, things start and end with no delimited point. They just...do. And if all time is present, then it can't be bought back. It can't be unredeemed. Also, Tom said that he brought up the few first lines of the poem in the writers' room, which leads to the line "We die with the dying, we're born with the dead". That's why I also wanted to bring it to attention <3

Alright, hope this isn't too long. Have a nice day!!!

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston loki #sag aftra #ts eliot #little gidding #random thoughts #mcu #loki series #owen wilson #sophia di martino