No but like every time I think about Splinter and what he had to go through just to keep the boys alive, my heart hurts for him so badly. Is he perfect? No not at all, but none of them are and by god does he love his sons.
The fact that all of them are alive, and grew to thrive despite the circumstances surrounding them is a testament of how much Splinter loves his boys. He raised four babies following the most traumatic time of his life, all alone with nothing but the sewers to house them (to hide them.) I feel like he’s not given the credit he deserves for all he’s done.
And I get that it’s easy to hold up his flaws and faults when it comes to parenting, I myself like looking into them because flawed characters are super interesting and said flaws make them more realistic and engaging, but he tries, and again, so many others would have given up on the boys or failed along the way but Splinter didn’t.
He’s their father, for all his faults he did his damndest to make sure they survived.
can't it even be more obvious thomas. why are you surprised that a sudrian historical site filled to the brim with armor and weaponry that dates back to the middle ages has old people afflicted with the gold dust working around the castle
its heartbreaking how arthur tries, so hard, on numerous occasions, to get dutch to be the man he knew dutch, or believed dutch to be, the man who stood up for the little man, who took from the rich and gave to the poor, who raised him, loved him, is the reason arthur is the man that he is. he continues to try, he begs and pleads with him, no matter how many times dutch spits on his efforts, he tries so hard, having some hope that the man is still in there somewhere, only to be prove wrong again and again. yet, he still holds out hope, he still tries, even when he's dying, he still warns dutch, and pleads with him to believe, even till the bitter end and god.
it's so heartbreaking how loyal arthur is, and was, and how it doesn't matter if he's loyal, if he follows dutch and abandons everything, his love, his family, for dutch, it doesn't matter in the end as he still chose a man so vile, who he only knew for six months, a man who has only ever fed his ego, a man who actively sold the gang out for his greed over his son who loved him.
I decided to take drawing more seriously and try to make an actual complete piece. So here it is ^u^
More info under the cut!
While scrolling, I found some concept art of playable Cyber elf X, and fell in love xD
So I decided to draw this piece; it was mostly practice for me to test out the brushes and my digital limits. (I usually draw in black and white on paper, so this was tough, but rewarding -w-)
Originally, the idea for the background would be a void-like cyberspace bg, but a friend suggested a sunset.
The idea here is that Cyber elf x is falling from… robot heaven? Armed and ready. So ye.
Haven't properly gotten into Durge yet but bare with me:
from what we've seen, Durge's opinion of Orin wasn't too great; complaining that she is playing with her pray and the aftermath of them as with toys, taking her damn time and not really understanding the point of their Lord Bhaal - it is not the spectacle of mxrder but the act itself that is valued - destruction of all life - and in his name.
So imagine the rage, envy and animosity Orin had felt when her (in my case) 'big sister' - the favourite in the family who starts to get an even more important role in the grand scheme - starts to get entangled with Gortash and his manipulative ways of domination - and not destruction how Bhaal wills it.
As she herself says: '…the little lordling has been whispering in your ears? He always knew how to tumble and twist your mind matter, leave you knotted in his cords.'
Now, ignoring how absolutely deranged that line makes me (lmao) I can fully understand Orin, no matter how messed up she is: besides being the preferred spawn, Durge would also be getting away with meandering or straying from the course of their goal as well- no wonder she decides that she had enough of it and if she can't make herself the favourite, she can make herself the only…
How that pans out for her depends on the Durge, but can't say all too well hah.
I started writing a post about how Yenna is actually adorable and how it hurts to know that she tries so much to be helpful and stay cheerful despite how scared she is because this is how children who were forced to mature beyond their years behave.
I really tried imagining her dynamic with the group.
But I’m weak and infected, so I ended up diverging and thinking about how Astarion went from scoffing and sneering at the mere idea of letting the kid stay in to “Let’s just kill Gortash and get Yenna back”, which led to me sprouting a headcanon moment, one of those that might have happened in-between.
When Yenna is allowed to stay in the camp, Astarion tries to pretend she doesn't exist. If Tav absolutely has to drag in every lost mutt to their place, fine. But don't expect him to play babysitter or be nice about it.
In fact, he is more than ready not to be nice: the sooner the kid runs away in tears, the better it will be for all of them. Little children shouldn't really be around vampires. Or githyanki. Or flammable tieflings. Or anyone who can turn into a mindflayer at any given moment. If she has to be hurt, she better get hurt somewhere else, where he can’t see it, and it’s not his problem.
He gets his chance when Yenna approaches him, asking what he’d like her to cook. Astarion jumps at the opportunity. He gives her his most evil grin as he gleefully tells her about craving delicious red blood. He uses his best malicious voice and flashes his fangs at her -- only for her to leave without as much as a whimper and then show up later, hair messy, arms scratched, and cheeks muddy as she offers him a young hare she caught and kept alive for him.
That confuses him to no end: what was this child's damage? She was supposed to run away from a vampire, not to feed him! Why is she more worried about whether he liked what she brought than what might happen to her if she stays? What in the Hells can be scarier than to be stuck with a vampire?
He could probably act like an absolute ass and refuse her offering, chew her out for being a lousy hunter, and remind her that nothing is more quenching than the blood of a thinking young soul. He could make her terrified, make her run away sobbing.
He could hurt her.
But somehow, he doesn’t. The words just never leave his throat.
Instead, he huffs, scoffs, and accepts her meal just so she would leave him alone -- and tells her not to do it again because he prefers to pick his own supper, and it would be such a shame if he came across her during his hunts.
He is pretty sure that all the kid got from his speech was that she had been approved to stay - and that was the only thing that mattered to her, which is simply infuriating.
your blog has set me thinking about how lando really likes his little guys with soft, furry thighs like oscar and maxf do not look at all like each other but they both got those luxury executive first class leggies
Sweet Anon, I almost didn't answer this so that I could keep it in my inbox forever, but I think "luxury first class leggies" needs to be shared with the world. Soft, furry thighs are SO IMPORTANT! (To Lando but also to many of us.) You truly have the Vision.
i feel i should preface this with saying that this relationship analysis "takes place" before qcellbit's emotional exhaustion and motivation crash---
---but i have been having SUCH crazy thoughts abt the archivists (qcellbit n qphilza). guy who needs evidence of Everything 🤝 guy who takes pictures of and hoards Everything. two-cars-passing-each-other meme whenever cellbit (practically nocturnal at this point) makes a late-night run to the Ordo to grab some notes he left there and bumps into phil (trouble sleeping ever since the birdhouse incident) who's sitting in one of the evidence rooms organizing a new backpack of photos to hand over to cellbit.
"oh. hey phil." "hi mate."
their conversations and interactions center mostly around cellbit's investigations---the ones cellbit lets the public know about, anyway---and whatever new info phil managed to scoop up since the last time they saw each other. theories are exchanged, and photos are passed between them as easily as pleasantries. "how're you doing?" "oh, doin' alright, doin' alright. you?" "eh. busy, you know?"
they don't talk about much else.
see, they both understand secrets. intimately. things you did you would much rather leave behind you, if you can, or thoughts, worries, doubts you would much rather keep to yourself for fear of speaking them into existence. sealed lips; a tight lid. they look at each other and know they're only seeing what the other wants them to see, but that's okay. they get it. sometimes, it's just easier to focus on what is directly in front of you. what you can see, what you can touch; what you know is true, what you know is real.
what you can do.
so cellbit generates and bounces his theories off of phil, and phil is more than happy to be a sounding board. phil fills up a backpack with photographs, and cellbit is more than happy to take it off his hands. they focus on The Work, on the spiderweb of red string and loose ends and grainy pictures and scrawled notes pinned to the wall, madness-incarnate sprawled out before them. they trust each other's judgement, and they trust each other's skills, and they trust each other, and neither asks too many questions. they both appreciate it.
My headcannon is that Duck has been in a state of awareness throughout the series much like Yellow was in Electricity, the visual tell for this bring their big ass eyes. Yellow's enlarged sclera is obvious because his eyes are radiation green. Duck's eyes are brown so they just look like slightly bigger black dots than the others. What I'm getting at is Duck has some awareness. He's just naturally deranged.
HAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD! okay! from MY POV, the idea of Duck having any awareness about their situation at all is so fucked up.
The pupil thing could be a good way to hide it, and totally a route I could see BB&J (becky,baker and joe) taking, realistically. He also does just have MASSIVE pupils.
Anyways, the reason that ideas super duper fucked up to me is because um… well one of Ducks main motivators in like EVERY episode is just keeping the three of them together. Even in eps like Jobs or Family where they're separated, he spends all his energy and spare thoughts on the other two (where are they, what are they doing, who are they talking to, ect). Now I assumed this was because their little trio-ship is the ONLY thing in that house that matters to him or that he even remotely cares about.
But sure, let's get meta with it and say for the sake of argument that Duck has been FULLY aware of the fact that they're in a forever looping TV show and that theyre puppets.
That makes some lines like "That's not allowed (in reference to going outside of the house)!" and "People are dying to know what your final guess would have been." a lot more … explainable I guess?
But it also makes his weird dedication to keeping the three of them together undeniably sinister (e.g is he doing this bc he knows who Lesley is or something?? Is he doing this bc he's aware theres nothing for them OUTSIDE of this house??). It means it's not that he tries to keep them together BECAUSE he cares about them, he tries to keep them together for the sake of the keeping the SHOW GOING.
It also means he is WELL AWARE that the other two are miserable in that house and just DOES NOT CARE, because he thinks the three of them being together is better than the alternative.
It also would kind of paint the "I like looking at you too" scene in a bit of a different light,no? For all we know, he could be referring to Red (the puppet) as opposed to Red (the character).
I don't even think him being aware would make him… deranged, I think it would literally just make him ACTUALLY irredeemable.
Which I'm fine with! Best boy either way! A character doesn't have to be morally sound for me to like this, just interesting. But like. think about the implications of what you're saying here.
actually you know. the 5.05 conversation is horrible the worst so frustrating and wretched to sit through i want to rip my hair out and sob interesting because arthur sort of… does go through an arc while trying to parse out what merlin’s thinking? and he gets so so so close but ultimately decides to leave it alone for some reason? like, okay.
at first, after he asks for merlins opinion, merlin only gives him vague answers. he says things like wanting “a fair and just kingdom for all” and wanting arthur to “become the king [he’s] destined to be” without clearly stating (to arthur) what he believes a fair and just kingdom for all means. who it encompasses. what kind of king arthur is destined to be. what that destiny entails.
we know, obviously, but arthur doesnt. its always interested me how when merlin says “a fair and just kingdom for all” arthur automatically takes that to mean that merlin is telling him to turn magic away. like, its just vague enough that for arthur, who doesn’t consider magic users to be in the equation, who does not consider them as part of his people in order to incorporate their needs and stuff within his laws, it means to not accept the disirs demands. but for literally anyone without those prejudices, without that life long indoctrination and belief, it could also be taken for all. like. all all. everyone. including sorcerers. so while merlin is saying one thing, arthur takes it to mean something else completely—and merlin. doesn’t correct him. just makes another statement that could mean two very different things depending on how much context you have.
anyway. my point is that, at this point, arthur was mostly thinking of legalizing magic as a means to an end. something he must do to save one of his men. like obviously he’s considering the consequences it would bring and exactly just how significant of a thing it would be but… he’s not really doubting his view on magic at this point.
but then he asks merlin if sorcery reigning once more is what merlin would want. he looks at merlin closer. sees how tense and silent he is. probably sees his glassy eyes and just how uncomfortable he looks. then he changes his stance. up until this point, a fair and just kingdom for everyone meant the exclusion of tolerating magic. up until this point, those two things were just obviously/inherently mutually exclusive to arthurs mind. but then he sees merlin and changes tactic. says, well, “maybe my father was wrong” and “maybe the old ways aren’t as evil as we once thought”. starts looking at merlin intently and admitting that perhaps theres another angle to this (an angle that, whenever he has started to consider, hes been immediately turned away from).
which i thought was interesting. idk. everyone always like HOW DID ARTHUR NOT SEE!!! and like. same. but also i think he did see?